Plenipotent Player Prince
by Quatermass
Summary: (Harem! Lelouch-Momonga/CC/Kallen-Albedo/Milly-Shalltear and more!) When Yggdrasil shut down, Momonga and the NPCs were not sent to the New World, but reborn in another world. Momonga, once Satoru Suzuki, slumbered within the mind of Lelouch vi Britannia...until CC, in unlocking the power of Geass, unlocked memories and powers that will ensure Ainz Ooal Gown's resurrection...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

I had, some time ago, posted a challenge in the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf, 'Zero of Ainz Ooal Gown', which was basically to _Code Geass_ what my story _Yield to the Darkness_ was to the Potterverse. Basically, I was transplanting the characters of _Overlord_ into the _Code Geass_ -verse.

While discussing the challenge in my Potterverse/ _Code Geass_ crossover _Warlock_ , a guest reviewer pointed out the reasons the story would probably not work, and while I disagreed with said guest reviewer, it got me thinking…how would it work better? This story, a reincarnation story, is the result.

Anyway, time for the usual disclaimers. Firstly, there will be spoilers for both _Overlord_ and _Code Geass_.

Secondly, there will be heavy annotations, as is usual for my works. You have been warned.

Thirdly, this is an M-Rated work. There will be coarse language, violence, dark themes and sexual references. Again, you have been warned.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. _Overlord_ and _Code Geass_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Lelouch would use his Geass to force you to…


	2. Chapter 1: The Day an Ovelord was

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **THE DAY AN OVERLORD WAS (RE)BORN**

If CC was able to move her lungs in any way, she would have sighed in irritation. That made the 87th time she had been shot in the head…since she kept mental tallies, anyway(1). Dying was an inconvenience, though she could hardly call it pleasant or even enjoyable. Oh, save for that one time she outdid Charles and Marianne in a drinking competition and her liver gave out while they were singing drunkenly and trying to shave that blonde little shit VV's head.

Well, not that Charles and Marianne were much in the way of happy memories, not anymore. CC knew that Charles had had a hand in her imprisonment, even if it was Clovis who subjected her to all those inhumane experiments. No doubt keeping her on ice until they were ready to go through with that plan of theirs. And then, these terrorists or rebels or whatever they should be called decided to steal her.

And then, things went wrong. Shortly after the capsule confining her was opened up, she found herself watching as their son Lelouch, supposedly dead (but CC had known better for some time) was being wrestled to the ground by what looked like Suzaku Kururugi, the latter forcing a gas mask over the former's face in what was either a stupid act of self-sacrifice, or something bizarrely kinky. Her money was on the former.

Then, Clovis' goons had to show up. Suzaku protested the killings, and got shot for his troubles. A terrorist driving the truck set off some explosives, and CC had been dragged through the various derelict buildings of what seemed to be the Shinjuku ghetto. Clovis was embarking on a mass extermination, and was doubtless going to try and find her later.

Lelouch wasn't half bad at hiding. While he was good at chess, he was better at a surprising number of video games, though he seemed to be drawn to RPGs, from what she remembered before she buggered off from the Britannian court. But he seemed to do well with stealth as well. At least until his mobile phone trilled at exactly the wrong moment.

He was going to be shot, and CC threw herself in front of the bullet. Even though she knew exactly how unpleasant it was to have a small but fast piece of metal pierce one's skull and splatter parts of her brain matter all over the place. Not that would mean much unless she managed to will her currently regenerating body to make physical contact with him to get him to make a contract with her.

As she gathered the willpower needed to force her body to make contact, she reflected on Lelouch. He seemed odd when she saw him during his earlier years. Even with his regal nature, granted by his birth, there were odd moments when he seemed uncertain. Prone to odd melancholies, or bitterness, or even just an occasional awed looking at the sky or at the gardens.

And then, there was his sister, the one person he indisputably loved. Strangely obsessed with insects, cute, and yet, there was something dangerous lurking beneath the façade of Nunnally vi Britannia, even if CC couldn't put her finger on it. A potential weakness, but God help anyone who tried to exploit that.

And there was their friend, Suzaku Kururugi, an earnest young man who seemed to want to wield multiple swords at once. If there was someone who embodied the ideal of an honourable warrior, it was Suzaku. Not anything as pedestrian as the chivalric codes of European knighthood, or the _bushido_ of the samurai, but something more personal.

CC had found that just a touch puzzling. Those three had seemed like older souls than they should have been. Still, it was a moot point. Her path had intersected with Lelouch's once more. And now, she was hoping, beyond hope, that he would be able to eventually take her Code and allow her to die. Or at least entertain her with his attempts to overthrow his father. It couldn't make Britannia any worse, and maybe he could stop the plan CC had once agreed to.

At the right moment, she reached out, grasped his hand, and took him into a mental world, a noosphere linked up to the great Noosphere that was the World of C. Into his mind, she spoke. _You don't want to die here, do you?_

 _What?_ Lelouch yelped, but she realised he seemed to have two voices, two images flickering over him…no, three. There was Lelouch Lamperouge, the skinny, scrawny Britannian prince in exile, his voice higher pitched and strident. There was what appeared to be a rather similarly scrawny Japanese man, handsome, but worn down by drudgery, his voice a little lower pitched. And then, behind them, with a voice like an echoing sepulchre…

 ** _Death_**.

No, not quite Death. It was a tall, robed skeleton, wielding an elaborate staff with seven jewels in the mouths of seven snakes at its apex, but it was not the Reaper, not with such a dumbfounded expression of surprise on its skull face mirrored on the faces of the other two images. She would have thought the Reaper eager to harvest her soul after so long a delay.

No. These overlapping images were the same person, she realised. Names entered her mind through their link. Satoru Suzuki, downtrodden corporate drone from a polluted future on another world. And Momonga, the Supreme Overlord, Ruler of Death, the mask Suzuki donned when he escaped to the fantasy world of _Yggdrasil_ , the MMORPG opiate of that polluted future.

Memories of another life, of the frustrations and broken dreams of Satoru Suzuki, of his stewardship of Ainz Ooal Gown, entered her mind. Of the last day of _Yggdrasil_ , of Suzuki staying logged on, bitter that his friends all but abandoned Ainz Ooal Gown, staying logged on until the shutdown…and then…Suzuki and Momonga died, only to be reborn as Lelouch vi Britannia.

 _There's power in here_ , CC mused to herself. _Somehow, he has all the powers of that avatar of his, albeit locked away. Maybe if I give him the power of the Geass, it may be unlocked. But…that guild, they roleplayed as evil monsters. If I allow him such power, beyond even that of Geass…what will he do to the world?_

It felt like an eternity, but in this memetic plain, an eternity was but a split second, especially for CC. Part of her was worried about the consequences of this…but part of her knew that, if she decided to have Charles and Marianne's plan stopped, then giving Lelouch this power would help.

Besides, there was a part of her that wanted to light the fuse and run like hell to a safe distance. Assuming there was one.

Getting back to the matter at hand, she said, _You appear to have a reason for living. If I grant you power, would that be enough for you to fight on? In exchange for power, you will grant me my heart's desire. The Power of the King…no, the Overlord will isolate you, set you above and apart from normal people. Are you prepared for this?_

She knew he would accept quickly, and thus, he did. But she wasn't prepared for the fireworks that followed when she gave him the power of Geass. She felt something blast out from Lelouch/Satoru Suzuki/Momonga, causing major ripples through the World of C. She could hear the cry of a billion, billion voices within that Noosphere…

…and they were all saying, _Oh,_ _ **shit**_ _(_ _2)_ …

* * *

In the ghettos of Shinjuku, a pair of duelling Knightmare Frames, one a battered, refurbished Glasgow, the other a top of the range Sutherland, suddenly halted and paused mid-battle. Within them, the pilots froze as memories and abilities from another time flooded in. The teal-haired man in the Sutherland blinked, a strange thought flitting through his mind that he was missing a butler's outfit, while in the Glasgow, a red-haired girl with a belligerent demeanour suddenly shrieked, "Lord Momonga! My love, where are you?!"

* * *

In another Sutherland, a dark-skinned woman with silvery blue hair blinked. "Huh? Where's my crozier, _su?_ "

* * *

In the Student Council, the gathered members collapsed, only to get back up. Milly looked down at her body, and wondered idly why she didn't need padding anymore, or why her skin wasn't so pale. Rivalz wondered why he was male, while Nina wondered why she was female…and when they saw their now heterochromic eyes in the mirror, they'd be even more confused. And Shirley found herself wondering whether she could get a maid outfit and something to eat…well, someone…

* * *

In the rooms of Lelouch Lamperouge, Nunnally opened her eyes for the first time in years. Insects gathered around her. "Oh! I'm cute! And I don't even need a mask!" she chirped as she looked in a polished silver plate.

Sayoko blinked, before peering at her now elongated fingers, electricity crackling around them…

* * *

As he was carried away on a stretcher, Suzaku dreamed of a cold lake that was home, and of having four arms to fight with…

* * *

Lloyd Asplund found his head filled with wonderful tortures he could inflict, in the name of science, while Cecile Croomy found herself forced to catch her own head when it fell off her shoulders…

* * *

Inside the Camelot trailer, the Lancelot dreamed dreams of adorable animals, squeeing in an adorable monotone…

* * *

In the ruined ghetto of Shinjuku, Tamaki frowned, suddenly having ambitions to take over the Great Tomb of Nazarick…

* * *

In an opulent and ornate chamber deep underground Shinjuku, a blank face, with only a triptych of holes for eyes and a mouth, seemed to nonetheless hold surprise and anticipation. " _Mein Gott has come back!_ " he shrieked in a German accent. "Hurry back, Lord Momonga! _SCHNELL!_ "

* * *

Lelouch vi Britannia nearly drowned in the flood of memories. For a time, he was torn between two lives, three personas. But while Satoru Suzuki had been a downtrodden salaryman in the 22nd Century, this new life had honed him into something more.

Lelouch had thought those dreams to be nightmares of a world turned into poisoned greyness, consumed by an evil even more insidious than Britannia, one where the masses were pacified by Dive-MMORPGs. But now, he knew with conviction that they had been memories, fragments from a past life.

He stood, and glared at the man who had murdered his friend Suzaku, had killed this mysterious green-haired woman, and who was intending to kill him. Some part of him activated Aura of Despair I. As the gathered men before him stared at him in horror, unable to understand the feeling of dread they felt emanating from the boy they were confronting (more than a few pissing themselves, judging by the darkening patches on their trousers), Lelouch said, coldly, "Tell me…how should a Britannian who despises his own country conduct himself?"

"…Are-are-are you s-s-s-some k-k-kind of radical?" the leader stammered out. He looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack.

"What's the matter?" Lelouch demanded. "I'm just a schoolboy, right? Or is it because you now understand that those who kill must be prepared to be killed in their turn? You wanted a massacre? _You'll get one(_ _3)_." A power seemed to well up within his left eye, and he yelled, " _I, Lelouch vi Britannia, order you to stand still, and accept your fate!_ "

"Yes, Your Highness!" the captain said, he and his men standing to attention. Faint red glows appeared in their eyes.

Lelouch turned to one, and reached out, activating a skill by instinct. " _Grasp Heart_ ," he intoned, feeling a pulsing organ within his hand…and crushed it. That soldier collapsed with a gurgle, blood spurting from his mouth.

 _Hmm, Ninth Tier Magic does seem a bit of overkill_ , he mused. He pointed to another, and used Dragon Lightning on another, turning him instantly into a crisp. A weak Fifth-Tier spell like that, and it killed him so readily?

Tiring of this game, he commanded, "All of you, _DIE!_ "

"At once!" the captain barked, before taking his sidearm, and pressing it to his head, before shooting. The others followed suit.

Part of him recoiled with horror, but the other part smirked inwardly. Lelouch vi Britannia had been looking for a way to destroy the Britannia of his father, Emperor Charles zi Britannia. Satoru Suzuki had been a powerless drone. But Momonga had, somehow, supplied this amalgamation with power…with another part supplied by that green-haired girl.

 _Yes_ … Lelouch though with a grin. _With this power, I can take on Britannia, and win_ …

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Lelouch is actually a reincarnated Satoru Suzuki, aka Momonga, aka Ainz Ooal Gown. And it seems that he's not the only one reincarnated…and CC may have doomed the world. Well, as long as she can eat pizza while watching the world burn, I think she wouldn't mind so much.**

 **Now, there's a few things to keep in mind. Firstly, Momonga was 'killed' when the** ** _Yggdrasil_** **shutdown occurred, and his soul, along with that of the NPCs (for the most part) ended up reincarnated in the** ** _Code Geass_** **-verse. However, the Tomb of Nazarick did get physically transported to the** ** _Code Geass_** **-verse.**

 **Secondly, this version of Lelouch is not as smart as the one in the original** ** _Code Geass_** **. He will be closer to Momonga in some regards, though Momonga himself is still pretty smart. However, this version of Lelouch/Momonga is actually more moral, and, due to the various NPCs having lived human lives (for the most part: yes, Shizu Delta IS the Lancelot), they will be…I hesitate to say less evil, but they at least have enough perspective to understand the need for caution, even the ones who are very evil. Albedo and Shalltear are still obsessed with banging Momonga, true (and given that Momonga actually has a flesh and blood body, not to mention a penis, they have a better chance of succeeding), and Albedo will still think of humans as insects, but both will have humans that they have soft spots for.**

 **Thirdly, they will eventually gain the ability to change back and forth between their current forms, and those as their forms in** ** _Ygdrassil_** **.**

 **Now,** ** _Overlord_** **characters are OP as fuck, as anyone familiar with the series or the light novels should know. Much of the story will be about how they cope with their new situation, as well as strategizing.**

 **1\. I was sort of inspired by Frieza's character in** ** _Dragonball Z Abridged_** **(yes, I know they say it's spelled Freeza in the Abridged Series, but I'm so used to the dub spelling, so any weeaboos who take issue: bite me) when he claims that he has heard heroic speeches so often, he makes a mental tally of certain lines. Given CC's immortality, I reckon she does the same thing for how many times she's died a certain way.**

 **2\. This is a reference to a similar joke in** ** _8-Bit Theater_** **(which, of course, made the joke as a reference to the first** ** _Star Wars_** **film).**

 **3\. I took these lines from the dub of** ** _Overlord_** **, which I think, in some regards of dialogue, is an improvement over the original Japanese.**


	3. Chapter 2: Fratricide

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **FRATRICIDE**

Lelouch didn't have much time to consider what he had done, or what he was going to do, before a Sutherland burst into the warehouse he was in. " _Oh, what's this,_ su?" cooed a voice from the external speakers. " _A naughty schoolboy skiving off…wait a moment._ " The Knightmare seemed to scrutinise him, before it knelt on one knee. " _Lord Momonga! I have found you!_ "

Lelouch stared at the Knightmare in shock. Eventually, he said, "How do you know that name?"

" _Oh, that's right! I look very different_ , su!" The cockpit of the Knightmare Frame opened up, and a dark-skinned woman with silvery blue hair and an athletic frame hopped out. As she did so, she held out a hand, and a massive staff…no, an elaborate and very familiar crozier appeared.

And Lelouch realised that he knew who this was immediately. Not just because of the crozier, but something within him was telling him who this woman was, or rather, who she had been. Back in _Yggdrasil_. Specifically, an NPC, one of the Pleiades battle maids. Somehow, the impossibility of this seemed to take a backseat. After all, he had somehow been reincarnated in another world, why not an NPC?

"Lupusregina Beta…" he murmured. "You look…different." Which was an understatement. The skin tone wasn't dissimilar, though the battle maid skin was originally more like a tan, and her eyes were the same golden colour, despite the different shape. But her body was more slender, even as the athletic nature of her body was apparent, and her hair was no longer red and done up in twin pigtails.

"The same could be said for you, Lord Momonga," Lupusregina said, strutting over, and kneeling. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love the awe-inspiring aura of power when you look like an overlord, but I've gotta say, you look kind of hot as a human, _su_. If you don't mind me saying such things, Lord Momonga."

"…No. You look beautiful yourself," Lelouch said, gesturing for her to stand up. "And call me Lelouch for now."

"Then call me Villetta Nu. That's the name I got as a human."

"Very well. Villetta, report. What have you been told to do in this ghetto?"

"That fool Clovis has ordered us to wipe out the humans within the ghetto," Lupusregina said with a shrug. "He claims those foolish rebels stole poison gas."

Lelouch looked over at the green-haired girl who had granted him not only that strange compulsion ability, one he was sure he didn't have before, but also returned his memories. "There was no poison gas, just that girl. Though why they want her…"

"Hmm, maybe Prince Clovis has a BDSM kink?" Lupusregina remarked, walking over to the straitjacketed girl and kneeling down next to her. The werewolf Pleiade frowned. "Hmm…this wound…it's healing, Lord Mo…I mean, Lelouch. It seems that this girl cannot die from a bullet. Still, what are your orders, Lelouch?"

Lelouch considered this. Both Lelouch and the man who was Satoru Suzuki were horrified at this massacre, and knew the best way to stop was to deal with Clovis. He could go and help the terrorists achieve victory through basically owning Clovis, the shitty strategist…

…Or, he could take a leaf out of the Iliad. Namely, the part with the Trojan Horse.

"Villetta," he said, using the human name of Lupusregina. "Do you know of any others who came here? The other NPCs?"

"Do you mean the Floor Guardians and my fellow Pleiades?" Lupusregina asked. "No, but…I think they are here. I think my superior, Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, is actually Sebas Tian."

Lelouch frowned. Could he communicate using Message, then? He tried it. _Hello? Can anyone hear me?_

A few seconds later, he got a veritable cacophony of voices, all of which pretty much amounted to, _Lord Momonga?! Is that you?!_

He winced at the volume. _Yes, it's me. Listen to me, all of you. For now, I am working to stop the conflict in Shinjuku. Any further communication will be limited until I have resolved this issue. Lupusregina Beta is with me. I will be stopping this massacre._

 _Lord Momonga, this is Sebas. If I may ask, who is Lupusregina Beta reincarnated as?_

 _Villetta Nu. Are you Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, as she suspected?_

 _Indeed. And…I find myself troubled by being ordered to kill innocents, and at how readily I agreed before I regained my memories. I will submit to any punishment you deem fit to expurgate my dishonour, my lord, but I am currently fighting someone in a red Glasgow, though, and_ …

A girl's voice broke through. _What? You are fighting me, Sebas?! You dare try to oppose the Captain of the Floor Guardians?!_

 _Albedo?!_ Sebas' voice all but yelped in surprise. Lelouch felt he needed to intervene.

 _Settle down, you two. Sebas, Albedo, continue to battle to the best of your abilities for show, but if either of you happen to squash any Britannian soldiers during the fighting…I don't care. But keep the civilians out of it. I'm going with Lupusregina Beta to stop the fighting. How many of you are actually within the fighting zone?_

 _I too am in the battle zone, Lord Momonga. It is I, Eclair Eklair Eklare._

 _Oh God_ , Lelouch thought. _It's the damn ambitious penguin janitor_.

Before he could reply, a lilting, unctuous voice spoke. _Lord Momonga, it is I, Demiurge. I have Yuri Alpha with me, and you may know us better as Earl Lloyd Asplund, and his assistant Cecile Croomy. We have one Suzaku Kururugi, and while he is unconscious, I am sure he is Cocytus. We are currently in a trailer on the edges of the battlefield._

 _And I am also in the trailer_ , spoke a monotone voice of a girl, breaking through Lelouch's relief that Suzaku was still alive.

… _Shizu Delta, are you the Lancelot?_ Demiurge's voice asked.

 _Yes_.

Lelouch looked at the corpses present, and smirked. _I've got an idea. Everyone else, sit tight for now. Sebas, Albedo, keep putting on your show_. With that, and the chorus of acknowledgements, Lelouch prepared to try out some more magic. "Create Undead: Death Knight," he intoned.

Lelouch grimaced when one of the corpses spasmed, dark liquid flowing out of its orifices and reshaping it. "Ugh, it didn't do this in _Yggdrasil!_ "

"It's a gameplay mechanic transferred over into reality, boy. Did you expect it to work like that?"

Lelouch stifled the reaction he initially had, and turned to see the girl who gave him Geass sitting up, no bullet wound on her head. "How did…?"

"I saw everything, Lelouch vi Britannia…or would you prefer Satoru Suzuki, or Momonga?"

"Hmm, you're getting mighty familiar with Lord Momonga, _su_ ," Lupusregina said with a smirk.

"Villetta…" Lelouch then looked at the girl. "Call me Lelouch for now. I have enough problems to deal with without having to worry about an identity crisis. What name would you prefer?"

"CC," the girl said, pronouncing it 'cee-two', though he somehow knew it was spelled like 'cee-cee'.

"Well, CC, thank you for unlocking my power. And, it seems, the memories of my allies." Turning back to the Death Knight, which had fully taken form. "Death Knight. Attack all soldiers wearing that uniform. Allow no unarmed combatants to come to any harm, and don't attack any armed fighters not wearing that uniform. Should you be attacked by any variations of that Sutherland, disable them by attacking the leg joints. Go."

The Death Knight roared, and then charged out of the warehouse. Lupusregina frowned. "Isn't a Death Knight more of a defensive monster?"

"Maybe…but we have another task." He turned back to CC. "If you were in that so-called 'poison gas' capsule, then that means Clovis is willing to kill to keep you secret. I'm guessing human experimentation was involved. Maybe to find out why you're immortal? So, tell me, CC…how would you like to be there when I rape his mind and make him die a slow painful death?"

CC, after a moment, smirked. "It would be a pleasure."

"Lord Momonga, if you seem set on helping these humans, I can help. A train filled with Sutherlands is being sent into Shinjuku to resupply the military there," Lupusregina said, with her own smirk.

"Hmm. A good point…"

* * *

The plan was fiendishly simple. Lupusregina, under her human identity as Villetta, was going to contact Clovis. She was going to notify him to speak on a private comms with nobody else overhearing, and once she did so, she would tell him that a Britannian schoolboy had stumbled across CC. Said schoolboy had claimed a relation with the royal family, so Villetta was bringing him to Clovis to make sure.

Lelouch would then don the uniform of one of the Britannian soldiers as a disguise. He would use the Geass to remove the memory of those present of seeing him, Villetta or CC there, as well as erase any electronic recordings, not to mention anything Clovis let slip. Once there, they would force Clovis to order a ceasefire, and then Lelouch would interrogate Clovis about his mother's death, and what he wanted CC for.

And then, he intended a spectacular finale.

All of which led to him, Lupusregina and CC now standing in the mobile command centre, Lupusregina keeping CC restrained. The ride over had been…interesting, what with three people crammed into a Sutherland, though Lupusregina didn't seem to mind. In fact, she seemed to relish her lord groping her. He'd forgotten that Lupusregina was supposed to be a bit of a lascivious sort. Peroroncino, surprisingly, hadn't been the one to create her.

The NPCs were now people, he realised. It sounded insane, it probably was insane…but if this was a dream or a delirium, he didn't want to wake up. This world may be a crappy one, but it was better than the one he left. He had no living relatives, no friends aside from those he made in _Yggdrasil_ , and he didn't really have any advancement prospects for his job. Here, he had Nunnally at least, and friends. And the world wasn't a polluted wreck.

But it didn't mean he still couldn't have some fun.

Which was why he savoured the look of shock on Clovis' face when Lelouch removed his helmet, and revealed his face. "Lelouch? You're alive?"

"Unfortunately. For you, anyway," Lelouch said coldly. He then activated his Geass. "Order a ceasefire at once. Then await my further instructions."

Clovis obeyed, and once the ceasefire was ordered, Lelouch approached his older brother. "Tell me, who murdered my mother?"

"Prince Schneizel and Princess Cornelia may know," Clovis replied in an eerie monotone.

"Were they the ones responsible, or do they just have information?" Lelouch demanded.

"I do not know if they are responsible. But Cornelia was responsible for the guard detail and thus its removal. And Schneizel was ordered to move the body somewhere."

"Hmm. Do you have any information on the project you used to experiment on CC?"

"No, the information was kept in a secret site. I do not know where, but General Bartley Aspirius will know."

 _Another thing to consider_ , Lelouch thought, before saying, "Do you regret the deaths you caused?"

"No, they were Elevens. I thought them responsible for your deaths. And even if they weren't, they are just Numbers."

"And what you did to CC?"

"She was a stepping stone to remaining on the throne forever."

Lelouch's face twisted in anger. "I release you." As the faint red glow vanished from Clovis' eyes, Lelouch glared at Clovis in contempt. "I've heard enough. Lupusregina Beta…can you beat him up so that he is paralysed, mute, and in a lot of pain?"

"Of course, Lord Momonga," the reincarnated werewolf maid purred.

As she advanced, Clovis shrieked, "Wait, wait! Lelouch, don't do this! I can take you back home! We can be happy!"

"Happy?" Lelouch said, gesturing Lupusregina to halt. "You murdered innocent people who hadn't so much as picked up a weapon against Britannia. You performed human experimentation, and on someone who wouldn't even have the mercy of death. My father discarded myself and Nunnally all because I dared to call him out on his refusal to bring my mother's murderers to justice. He invaded this country, knowing full well that we would be killed, either by the Japanese or the Britannians. My sister is a blind cripple, one who, by my father's reckoning, should be left by the wayside to die."

"We may not share the same mother, but we're still blood!" Clovis wailed. "You can't kill me!"

"You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty. Lupusregina…do it."

* * *

By the time Lupusregina was done, Clovis was little more than barely-conscious burger meat, lacking most of his teeth, an eye, much of his blood, and more than a few appendages. He was kept alive by Lupusregina's own healing skills, and then left to moan in pain, before they left the mobile HQ, and made for the Sutherland Viletta had used. Once inside, Lelouch remarked, "I wish we could play the 1812 Overture."

"Why?" CC asked. "Thinking of some fireworks, boy?"

"You could say that," Lelouch said, before he activated the spell he intended to use, azure magical circles surrounding him within the cockpit. In a lecturing tone, he remarked, "Super-Tier Magic in _Yggdrasil_ was amongst the most powerful, but utilising it is tricky, as it forces the allies of the one who uses it to be unable to use spells for a short period. It also takes a long time to activate, and a long time before it can be used again, so its usefulness is limited. But…I am making a statement. To the Floor Guardians and other NPCs of Nazarick, it is a greeting. To Britannia, especially my father, it is a shot across the bow, a warning that their time has come. And to the Japanese, this will be the first light of hope. This spell should also erase any evidence we were there. Lupusregina, are you recording this?"

"Yes."

"Hmm. Well, the spell is ready. Let's light the spark. _SUPER-TIER MAGIC:_ _ **FALLEN DOWN!**_ "

A pillar of light appeared, centred on the mobile HQ, only to rapidly grow, swallowing the mobile HQ and many of the troops surrounding it in a boiling blast of actinic light. It lasted for all of five seconds, but it felt like an eternity. And when the light faded away…what was left was devastation. There was a massive crater in the road, and what rubble from surrounding buildings that remained had either charred marks or even glassy sheens.

CC stared in shock. Lupusregina was squirming in ecstasy. And Lelouch looked on with grim satisfaction. Eventually, the green-haired immortal looked at Lelouch, and remarked, "A bit conspicuous, wasn't that?"

"True. But all good fireworks displays are. Did you enjoy that?"

CC considered her answer for a time, before a smirk touched her lips. "Yes. But you know that's not the end of it, boy?"

"No. It's only the beginning…"

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Lelouch has met the first of his minions, and CC. Oh, and has given Clovis a fitting send-off.**

 **If you're thinking that using Fallen Down is a bit OOC for Lelouch, keep in mind there's a few factors involved. This Lelouch has a lot of Satoru Suzuki, and as thoughtful as the latter is, he also hasn't become the mask of Momonga/Ainz yet. He hasn't had the lich-related emotion suppression, and he still retains more of his empathy, a heady combination. Clovis' massacre of the people angered him far more than it would have if he was the canon versions of Momonga or Lelouch. Satoru Suzuki actually has quite a lot of anger and resentment issues (his job, the perception that his friends abandoned the Tomb of Nazarick, etc), and combined with the fact that he still looks up to Touch Me's example means that he will punish those he thinks deserves it.**

 **He chose Fallen Down for a variety of reasons. He wanted to test the limits of his power. He wanted Clovis' death to be a spectacular statement. And he wanted to erase the evidence that he and the others were there. Keep in mind, nuclear weapons are yet to be a thing, at least until Nina comes along with FLEIJA. Fallen Down may not be quite a nuke, but it has much the same effect in a confined area.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	4. Chapter 3: Assembly

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **ASSEMBLY**

Lelouch found, with a bit of experimentation, that he could use Gate and, more to the point, use it to get anywhere he needed to (he also dismissed the Death Knight, feeling it fade away once he was done with it). So, after bidding Lupusregina farewell, he brought CC home, wondering how he'd explain the green-haired girl to Nunnally and Sayoko. He wasn't sure whether either of them were reincarnations of the NPCs as well.

He needn't have worried. Soon after coming back, the door burst open, Nunnally being wheeled in by Sayoko. "Big brother Lord Momonga!" Nunnally chirped…her eyes open.

"Nunnally?" Lelouch asked, before his new instincts he had gained gave him the original names of them. "Entoma…Narberal…I had one of the Pleiades as a sister?"

"Yep, and you were a great big brother, Lord Momonga!" Nunnally said, smiling. She looked at her hands and legs. "I miss my old body, and I hate not being able to walk and serve you to my full potential…but I had you watching out for me!"

Lelouch had to admit, he was touched. Entoma was the most grotesque of the Pleiades, an insect girl who hid her true insectoid face behind a mask-like bug, but she was, when not showing her true form, debatably the cutest, in a creepy way. Nunnally's face was a vast improvement, though, and the fact that she enjoyed how he treated her was touching.

"Welcome home, Lord Momonga," Sayoko…no, Narberal said, her appearance relatively impassive, before she turned a glare to CC. "And who is this?"

"Narberal, don't start. CC saved my life and unlocked our memories and, presumably, our abilities with them. She is to be considered an ally of the Tomb of Nazarick until she proves otherwise," Lelouch said sharply.

"…My apologies, my lord."

Lelouch nodded. So far, so good. It seemed that the Pleiades, so far, were loyal to him, no matter who they were in this life. But what of the Floor Guardians?

As if to answer his questions, there was a distant knock on the door to the Lamperouge quarters, and Narberal, after a moment, said, "I shall get it. Please wait here."

After she left, CC remarked, "You have loyal followers. Though I'm surprised. They were NPCs in an online game, not truly sapient, and yet, they are now alive."

Entoma…no, Lelouch couldn't think of her as anything other than Nunnally, fixed CC with a flat look. "We are the creations of the Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown. They gave us life, and thus, it behoves us to serve them to the best of our ability. We bow to no other. And Lord Momonga was with us to the very end. We owe him our loyalty until the rest of our lives. And I owe him my love as a sister, a love he reciprocated when our father in this life discarded us like trash. I have been privileged to know sibling love from my lord."

"And I too was privileged, Nunnally," Lelouch said, walking over, and gently stroking her hair. "Privileged to have such a sweet, loving sister. I never had siblings in my past life, and my parents died years ago. The nearest thing I had to sisters were BubblingTeapot(1) and Yamaiko. You are not my servant, but my sister first."

Nunnally sniffled, and began to weep. "Your kindness knows no bounds, big brother Lord Momonga…"

At that point, Narberal brought in what seemed to be the entirety of the Student Council. Milly Ashford, Shirley Fenette, Rivalz Cardemonde, and Nina Einstein…except his senses showed them to be Shalltear Bloodfallen, Solution Epsilon, Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore. He had to blink a little at those last two: it seemed that they had swapped genders, as Aura was a girl, albeit with masculine clothing and a tomboyish attitude, and Mare was a boy, with feminine clothing and a skittish demeanour. Still, they both had the same mismatched eyes, one green, one blue, and they had had similar demeanours, even before they regained themselves.

"It's him!" Milly said with a wide grin. "Lord Momonga! Oh, but we're not the first to meet him." She looked at CC curiously, and with not a little disdain. "And who is this?"

"CC, who saved my life by unlocking my powers and our memories. She is to be considered an ally of Nazarick until proven otherwise," Lelouch said.

"Yeah, about that," Rivalz said. "What happened to you after you fell into that truck?"

"It's a long story, and I would rather relay that once we have gathered the others, so I don't have to repeat myself," Lelouch said. "Sebas and Lupusregina Beta, along with Demiurge, Yuri Alpha, Shizu Delta and Cocytus are within the Britannian military, so their absence may be noted, especially as Shizu, according to what Lupusregina told me, is within a Knightmare Frame. Albedo appeared to be fighting Sebas on the side of the rebels. And Eclair was in Shinjuku too. We need to find a place to meet covertly for all of them. Can you all use Gate?" Those gathered nodded. "Hmm. While this place would make a good meeting place otherwise, I feel it is too exposed. If only the Great Tomb of Nazarick was here, but a vast mausoleum would look conspicuous. Still, I had better start contacting other NPCs unaccounted for. Pandora's Actor, Neuronist Painkill, Aureole Omega, Perfect Victim, Rubedo and Nigredo…"

Lelouch sent a Message to Pandora's Actor first. He wasn't looking forward to it, given how he shaped his creation during a time when he was going through an edgelord phase, but the NPC he created was perhaps the highest ranked NPC in Nazarick, authority-wise. _Pandora's Actor, are you there?_

 _Ah! Mein creator has contacted me! My apologies, Lord Momonga, for not managing to speak to you during that fracas in Shinjuku_ , a hammy, camp voice with a Germanic accent proclaimed. _I felt that you had other trials and travails to deal with, and so resolved to wait until nightfall at least to call you back as it were. Are you well, my lord?_

 _Yes, and more than well. Pandora's Actor, I would like to get to the point. Where are you at present? Have you been reincarnated as a human?_

 _Nein, mein creator. I have gathered from the earlier conference call that many of the Floor Guardians and Pleiades have been reborn as humans, save for Gargantua and Victim. By luck good or bad, I have remained within the Tomb of Nazarick, along with others. It currently resides deep under the surface of Shinjuku. The entrance itself, sadly, is blocked due to it being underground. However, I am sure Gate magic can bring you to the entrance with ease._

 _And its condition?_

 _The remaining NPCs have made a valiant effort, even without Sebas and the Pleiades, to say nothing of Eclair. Its splendour is more than worthy for the Supreme Beings and the Floor Guardians, even in their absence. Your most humble servant has been administering things in your absence…and if I may confess, my lord, it is rather tiring work. However, the Remote Viewing Mirror allowed us to view the outside world, and I decided that, until I heard from you or the Floor Guardians once more, to refrain from interfering._

 _And how long have you been there for?_

 _A few years, my lord. Admittedly, they were tough years, but our resources, thankfully, are not in danger of running out for some time_.

Lelouch considered this information. For all Pandora's Actor's hamminess, he had been a competent administrator in his absence. Eventually, he said, _Pandora's Actor, order Aureole Omega to allow teleportation magic between the floors of the Tomb of Nazarick, as well as the outside world, to anyone able to use Gate. I'll need to confirm whether the others can use Gate. Once I have confirmed that, I want you to assemble the NPCs within the Tomb for a time I will specify, within the Throne Room_.

He then heard the hammy NPC shout, _Wenn es meines Gottes Wille!_ That is, _If that is my God's will!_ He sighed. He guessed he made a mistake basing him on one of the Neo-Nazis, albeit without the xenophobia or brutality, who had taken over one of the European arcologies back in his first birth world. He was like a cartoon character, hammy and flamboyant, what Satoru Suzuki had thought cool and edgy at the time.

 _Please, cut down on the ham and the German interjections, Pandora's Actor. Consider that an order from your creator_ , Lelouch said.

… _Very well_ , Pandora's Actor said, sounding dejected, a little.

 _I am sure that you have done a good job of managing Nazarick in my absence, Pandora's Actor_ , Lelouch added, to soften the blow. _I am grateful._

 _Ah! Then that is all I need to know, my creator_ , the doppelganger said.

* * *

It had taken some time to establish communications with the other denizens of Nazarick, and establish that they all had the Gate ability. Albedo was particularly enthusiastic about finally meeting him, and Lelouch cringed. He remembered that amendment he had made to her backstory shortly before the server shutdown, that, instead of being a bitch, that she was in love with Momonga.

Still, the inventory worked as with _Yggdrasil_ , with all Lelouch needing to do was reaching into a rip in space. It meant he could retrieve most of his items. Then, at midnight, when all of them weren't otherwise occupied, the reincarnated denizens of Nazarick opened Gates into Nazarick.

They were greeted in the Throne Room by Pandora's Actor. He had to admit, the modified uniform was pretty cool, and the Throne Room looked like it was just freshly plucked from _Yggdrasil_. The throne was up the top of the stairs, but for now, he stood at its foot, looking at the gathered NPCs, including the ones he hadn't met yet.

Suzaku hadn't changed that much since he last met. Rather, he seemed to have more of a warrior's bearing, a sense of actual honour to him. This wasn't the boy who had joined the Britannians. No, this was Cocytus reborn.

Lloyd Asplund, with his pale blue hair and unctuous smile, Demiurge reborn. Cecile Croomy, now Yuri Alpha, the leader of the Pleiades, second only to Sebas. She didn't have the same mixture of maid outfit and the glasses, but she had the same mixture of sternness and compassion she seemed to have, even as a mindless NPC. Lloyd had brought along a screen that showed the stoic features of Shizu Delta.

Jeremiah Gottwald stood ramrod stiff, his face grim and stoic, but kindly, like he had been as Sebas. Even though he no longer looked like the older man he was, modelled on his creator, Touch Me, that character shone forth. Lelouch would be having words with him about joining the Purists. Tamaki was a belligerent-looking Japanese with a scruffy beard on his chin, though he held nothing in his expression but deference to his lord and master.

And there was Albedo's reincarnation. He recognised the girl as Kallen Stadtfeld, a student at Ashford Academy who had had frequent absences. Normally, she seemed demure, her red hair rather lank despite its groomed beauty and her blue eyes dull and lifeless…but here she was, her red hair spread out, and she assumed the more confident beauty of Albedo, even if she didn't have the wings or horns or the golden eyes. Though that smile, while serene, was vaguely unnerving.

After greetings (and a few insults) were exchanged, Lelouch decided to take control. "Floor Guardians, Pleiades, denizens of Nazarick…today is a fortuitous day. We could have been consigned to oblivion when _Yggdrasil_ went the way of all flesh. Instead, many of us were reborn in this world. Some of us were born into privilege. Others born into penury. But this, my friends, is an opportunity we will not waste. We have been reunited by chance. You see the girl alongside me. The name she gives is CC. She granted me a power, the power of Geass. In doing so, she unlocked not only my memories and powers, but all of yours. She is an ally to Nazarick, to Ainz Ooal Gown, until she proves otherwise."

This was met with a mixed reaction. He'd already got the impression from the others who had met CC that a human, even an immortal one, would not be well-liked. However, he had spoken with authority, gambling that the NPCs' loyalty to him would be strong, if not absolute.

"Now that we have been reunited, we require a purpose," Lelouch continued. He was so glad his life as Lelouch vi Britannia had prepared him for public oration. "I believe, despite your former loyalties in your new lives, that you will agree with me when I tell you what our new purpose will be. The so-called Holy Britannian Empire proclaims itself to be the strongest in the world, but does so deliberately at the expense of others. It proclaims a philosophy of survival of the fittest, of Social Darwinism that tramples people underfoot. It is a system that murdered my mother, and exiled my sister and I as pawns to be discarded on a whim. Because to Charles zi Britannia, nobody is indispensable, save for himself." He paused for effect, before adding, "He will learn the folly of his hubris."

They were all on tenterhooks, paying him the utmost attention. "To me, you are not pawns. Not pieces. You are all valuable to me, the beloved creations of myself and the other members of Ainz Ooal Gown. If they saw you today, they would be amazed and delighted. You are their children, after a fashion, and I feel that it is my duty to protect you."

"Nonsense," Kallen/Albedo said. "We are your servants. We do not need your protection, merely your direction. Just say the word, and we will lay waste to your enemies. The Britannians will pay for their folly, and we will place you on your father's throne."

There was a chorus of agreement, and Lelouch was heartened, but he was also annoyed. "Do not mistake me, Albedo. We are going to tear down the corrupt system of Britannia, and we will rule in its place. But to merely replace my father with myself is folly. Many of you, in your new lives, have suffered in one way or another before you woke to yourselves again. Do you want to see that suffering happen to those who are weak, whom my father would step on if it suited his purposes? You were weak once. Do you remember how that felt?"

He had them, especially Kallen. She was half-Britannian, half-Japanese, and worked for a Japanese rebel cell. He continued, softly, "Do you know how Ainz Ooal Gown was established? It was because the Supreme Beings who played inhuman beings were hunted down and attacked. But we protected each other. The strong protected the weak, allowing the weak to become strong in their turn. I would have quit _Yggdrasil_ long ago had it not been for Touch Me saving me and bringing me in. Look at Nunnally! Before she regained her power as Entoma Vasilissa Zeta, what would you have considered her? Weak? Worthless? That is exactly what the likes of Charles zi Britannia believe. As Momonga, I was weak and worthless long before I became a Supreme Being! I had to _earn_ my way to becoming your lord and master!"

They were rapt, listening to him like he was reciting a gospel from God Himself. Well, to them, he was a god. So, he said, "Perhaps, in the end, we will end up conquering the world. We will end up killing a lot of people in the end. But, I ask you…will we do so only for those we rule to fear or hate us? Or do we want them to cheer the name of Ainz Ooal Gown? To love our rule? We will not only win over these people's dominions, but we will win their hearts! Those without power will flock to our banner, and those who abuse power will fear us. We are Ainz Ooal Gown! And we will change this world for the better! _Are you with me?!_ "

It was a gamble. But it paid off. The former NPCs all fell to one knee (save for Nunnally, given her paralysis). So too did CC, although he got the impression she was doing it to avoid irritating the NPCs. " _All hail Lord Momonga!_ " they all chorused. " _We pledge our undying loyalty to you!_ "

 _Yes_ , Lelouch thought. _I'll make Ainz Ooal Gown known throughout the world. Feared by those who deserve it, loved by those who need it. And if any of my friends made it here, then they'll know where to come. I may not be able to create a perfect world or a peaceful one, but I'm definitely going to leave it a better place_ …

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Oh dear. Famous last words…**

 **Still, I think I made a better point here. While Momonga had considerably better skills as an orator, he was more or less at sea in the New World, and thus had to play the role of an overlord to a tee. However, as Lelouch, he has more options, and given that the NPCs have actually lived lives as humans, he is better able to sway them to his way of thinking. Oh, this time around, he's definitely going for world conquest from the outset, but not for fun. Using the foundation of Ainz Ooal Gown as a reason probably helps his case.**

 **1\. I used the name from the light novels' official translation. In the manga and anime, she's called Bukubukuchagama.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Trials and Tribulations

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF BEING AN OVERLORD**

"I must say, boy, this is turning out to be more entertaining than I thought."

Lelouch looked back at where CC was lounging on his bed, chewing on pizza, and so early this morning too. While she initially intended on having Pizza Hut, he persuaded her to try a pizza created within Nazarick, with ingredients they brought in. She took one bite…and was instantly hooked. Lelouch was sure that she wouldn't betray them now, not given the disturbingly orgasmic noises she made while eating said pizza. "You call my intentions to conquer the world entertaining? Most people would call that insane, megalomaniacal."

"I've lived a very long time, longer than even you given your two lifetimes, boy," CC said. "I've fought alongside Jeanne d'Arc, met George Washington and Napoleon Bonaparte. You may have very powerful individuals, powerful enough to withstand most modern weaponry…but you are relatively few in number. But you have ideals on your side. Just try not to let them get you killed…or too many other people killed, especially for the wrong reasons."

Lelouch scoffed. "Don't get me wrong, I was more than a little self-righteous earlier. In a way, this is revenge on my father for my mother, and for Nunnally. Not to mention I want to prevent the world I grew up in, poisoned and grey. But I also do believe that I should try to make a difference, to relieve suffering. Plus, spreading the reputation of Ainz Ooal Gown might just attract any Players who made it to this world, including my comrades. Not to mention it gives the former NPCs something to do. Many of them had evil karma, thanks to the settings given to them, but hopefully, I've managed to work around that."

"By appealing to their lives before they regained their memories, and telling them of the history of your guild," CC remarked. "It was not a bad idea, instead of just playing up the evil overlord role. Having lived lives as humans, they now have perspective, despite their innate misanthropy. And with perspective may come empathy. In theory. But sometimes, some perspectives may lessen it."

"You speak from experience?" Lelouch asked, looking at CC. "You mentioned fighting alongside Jeanne d'Arc…you must be at least five centuries old."

"It's rude to speculate about a lady's age, boy."

"You're wearing a straitjacket, eating pizza on my bed, and you claim to be a lady?"

"I'm seven centuries old, boy," CC said. "I have acquired unusual tastes. Besides, this straitjacket is actually quite comfortable when it's not done up fully. I'd hate it…but the fabric's actually quite nice. And the undersuit could double as a nice swimsuit. It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all." To make the point, she wriggled her derriere as she lay on the bed.

Lelouch blinked, staring, before he returned to typing on his computer, working out a plan on how to supply things to the Tomb of Nazarick. Unfortunately, while he knew CC had done it to tease him, he couldn't get the image of her attractive rear, along with the rest of her out of his head, saying, _Nothing at all. Nothing at all. NOTHING at ALL_.

Stupid Sexy CC.

"Incidentally, boy, you do know that Kallen and Millicent, the reincarnations of Albedo and Shalltear, want to jump your bones?" CC asked.

Lelouch winced. "Yes. Albedo was my fault entirely. I shouldn't have sullied Tabula's NPC like that, not if I knew this was going to happen."

CC shrugged. "Having an NPC reincarnate in another world and be brought to life? It sounds like something out of bad fiction. I doubt you could have foreseen it. Fantasised about it, maybe, but foreseen it? I saw your memories as Satoru Suzuki. To be honest, if I were in your shoes, I might've done something similar out of boredom. But it's happened, and you have to live with the consequences. Of course, Albedo was your fault, but Shalltear is wholly Peroroncino's. Why exactly were you friends with that guy, again? I mean, I saw the settings he gave her from your memories. He basically dumped a list of various fetishes and disturbing paraphilias, into the body of a girl who looks fourteen. At least Milly's closer to your age. Plus, I don't know whether you've noticed, but they were, to a small degree, self-aware before _Yggdrasil_ shut down. So while you're an older salaryman with the body of a teenager, they're technically in their twenties at least, in terms of experience. Anyway, my point is, don't take advantage of them. I'm not saying you shouldn't bed them eventually, only that what they feel for you is infatuation. Well, Milly you've known for a while, but Kallen?"

Lelouch knew what she was saying. Don't yank their chains. Try not to hurt them. Allow the infatuation they felt to become something more. "Kallen and Milly…and I've noticed the looks Shirley has been giving me too once she remembered being Solution. God, I don't know how my father copes with having 108 consorts. I know most of those are for political reasons, but still…"

"Oh, Kallen and Milly seemed fine with you having a harem. I got involved with an argument with them last night before we left Nazarick. They agreed to be part of a harem, but they still seem to think that the head wife will be an issue between them."

Lelouch turned in his chair once more, and fixed CC with a flat look. " _What_. They're okay with me having a _harem_."

"I didn't stutter. I might even join in," the green-haired immortal shrugged. "Though for now, we're more accomplices than lovers."

"Well then, accomplice…I want to know a few things. A few things I should be able to find out myself, experimenting with Geass…but there's something that worries me. When you spoke to me shortly before giving me the Geass, I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be my father, saying something about a convergence with the Ragnarok Connection, and a legend beginning once more. Tell me…what does my father have to do with this? Does he have a Geass? What is the Ragnarok Connection he spoke of?"

CC peered at him, almost cat-like, the impression heightened by those golden orbs of hers, before she said, "You ask a lot of questions, and expect a lot of answers. But I know you. When playing _Yggdrasil_ , part of the fun you and the other players had was in discovery, even when it led to danger. You hated spoilers, preferring to gain intelligence through your own means. And to tell the truth…if I did tell you too much, it would make you and your charges even greater targets than they were before."

Lelouch glared at CC. "I could just send you to Demiurge and Neuronist to get answers out of you. Or use my Geass on you."

"I never broke under Clovis' torture," CC said, matching his glare. "He was a fool, but he and his underlings were creative when it came to inflicting novel means of pain and death. And I cannot be affected by any Geass I give out. I don't think that is very grateful of you, given how I managed to unlock your memories and powers. So how about we make a deal? As long as an issue is not immediately vital to the safety of you and yours, I will let you figure it out. I won't leave you in the dark, not wholly. I'll be like your exposition fairy, only, I won't be annoying by saying 'HEY! LISTEN!' Instead, I'll annoy you in other ways. However, I will answer at least one of your questions. Your father does indeed have a Geass. But every Geass is different. And I was not the one to give it to him. That was a certain annoying blonde midget by the name of VV. VV and your father will be…the final bosses of your game."

Lelouch was tempted to chew the green-haired immortal out on calling this a game. But then, the part of him that was Momonga, the Guild Leader of Ainz Ooal Gown, the one who had been an infamous Player Killer…he relished the challenge. "You promise to tell me if necessary?"

"Indeed. To sweeten the pot, I should warn you about something. In _Yggdrasil_ , powers and abilities would sometimes come with costs. Your overlord body in that game came with weakness to fire and holy light as well. Your Geass will eventually grow in power and strength until it becomes permanently activated, a condition called Runaway Geass. Given that you are capable of issuing an absolute command to anyone, that would mean a careless word could end in disaster."

Lelouch nodded in thought, his rationality winning out over his anger. "Is there any way to prevent that?"

"Your Geass requires eye contact, so something as simple as a pair of mirrored sunglasses would help," CC said. "And given your other abilities…I doubt you would have to worry about Runaway Geass for some time if you are prudent about using it."

"Any other Geass users I should be worried about?"

She hesitated for some time. Eventually, she admitted, "One of my former contractors has the ability to read minds. He is obsessed with me, true, but because he cannot stop hearing the voices of others, he lives in an isolated region of the Chinese Federation. Once you've established an intelligence network, I will give details to your spymasters, just in case he decides to come out of hiding. But I will deal with him myself. I am the only person whose mind he cannot read." CC peered at Lelouch. "Keep in mind, Lelouch, that it is beneficial for me to keep you alive and free to act. I may not tell you everything, but I have your interests in mind."

"Not my ' _best_ interests'?" Lelouch asked.

"…Since when was it in anyone's _best_ interests to help them take over the world?" CC asked with a wry smile.

* * *

When he emerged to have breakfast, he saw that Nunnally was glaring at Kallen and Milly. He had decided, unless they were acting as part of Ainz Ooal Gown, he would think of them in their human identities. Their NPC names would be codenames, to shield them during operations…well, save for Lelouch. He wasn't going to use Momonga as a codename now, no matter how much Albedo or the others loved it. Momonga, after all, was a Japanese flying squirrel.

"…And you will not fight about who will be the head wife in my presence, or that of my brother!" Nunnally was saying. "I may have been one of the Pleiades before, and it will be my pleasure to defer to you on other matters, but I will not budge on this!"

To his astonishment, both Kallen and Milly, formerly Albedo and Shalltear, looked cowed. Lelouch couldn't help but laugh. "It's strange how the different relationships in the people we reincarnated as change things a little," Lelouch said, walking over, and hugging his sister. He then gave Kallen and Milly the same, to assuage any possible jealousy. Kallen, he noted, was dressed in the Ashford Academy uniform, her hair brushed down.

Kallen, after a moment, said, "As much as Entoma…I mean, Nunnally was insolent, I understand her protectiveness. My brother…in this life…he was protective. Oh, Lord Momo…I mean, Lelouch, if only you could have met him! For a mere human, he had valour in spades. Most of the rest of the cell have determination, but they lack direction. The current leader, Kaname Ohgi, is a reluctant leader, a schoolteacher. He fights well for someone so weak, but he lacks the nous to be a leader. I feel that you would give them the direction needed…though having a Britannian prince leading them could cause problems."

"Meaning that if I do lead them, I would have to disguise myself. Not that I wouldn't have, anyway," Lelouch said. "This is something we will have to remember. Can any of us disguise ourselves, even if it's using armour?"

Kallen and Milly nodded, and they summoned their respective armours. Kallen was now clad in Albedo's pitch black armour, while Milly was in the blood-red Valkyrie armour, with the swan-like helmet and wings on her back. To his astonishment, Milly's face was replaced by Shalltear's, but not the Shalltear who looked like a girl of fourteen, but rather, closer to Milly's age. And when Kallen removed her helmet, she looked like Albedo, albeit about seventeen.

On an impulse, Lelouch tried the same thing, and found himself draped in robes. He turned to a nearby mirror, and saw that he looked just as he had before, an eight foot tall skeleton man. An overlord. On another impulse, he tried to see if he could change his appearance, and was rewarded, with the skeleton being replaced by an idealised version of Satoru Suzuki. He touched his face, and smiled. It felt like real flesh and blood.

Still, he needed a decent mask to go with this. That Mask of Envy might be a bit too garish. And really, in the end, while these robes were quite useful, given the enchantments, they also gave him too much of a fantasy dark lord vibe. If he wanted people to flock to his banner, he'd need something…well, less sinister, though dark wasn't his problem.

With a smirk, dispelling the robes, he said, "Create Greater Item," visualising the costume he wanted. And soon, it appeared around him in a flare of light.

A massive cape-like cloak was draped around him like the wings of a predatory bird. Underneath was a uniform that looked vaguely noble and military, both acknowledgement and rejection of the Britannian society as it was now. A mask with an eerily opaque reflective visor was perched on his head.

After a moment, he turned to CC. "Well? What do you think?" he asked. He knew that the NPCs would praise him even if he was wearing a copy of the Sixth Doctor's outfit from _Doctor Who_ , and that looked like a rainbow shat itself to death all over it.

"Portentous, pompous and pretentious," CC said flatly, before a smirk came across her lips. "I like it."

"Hmm. Still, I may have to go to the Treasury and retrieve items to enhance its defences," Lelouch mused as he dispelled the costume, Kallen and Milly doing the same to their armours. "I'll have to ask Pandora's Actor for as complete an inventory as he can manage. Or better yet, see if we can create the costume itself from scratch without needing Create Greater Item. I'm sure we have enough items to do so."

"Forgive my insolence, my lord," Kallen said, "but while the name of Lord Momonga brings nothing but joy to my heart…I fear that, given that it is the name for a Japanese flying squirrel, it may provoke unwarranted hilarity amongst the uneducated rabble. I fear I would be unable to keep myself from slaughtering them otherwise."

"I understand, Kallen," Lelouch said. "I have been thinking of another title, and while it may be a little unoriginal…it serves as a rejection of the Numbers system. Originally, I had considered taking on the name of our guild, to serve as a beacon to any of my guildmates who may have ended up here, but it will serve as the name for the organisation that will change this world. No…I believe the name I will take up will be _Zero_. Not just a symbol of nothingness and anonymity, but a refutation of the Numbers system. In private, you may refer to me as Lelouch or Momonga, whichever you prefer. You can even call me by my former name of Satoru Suzuki if you like."

"Ah! My lord is too kind!" Kallen said, writhing in ecstasy. CC and Nunnally looked amused, and Milly…did not.

Lelouch cleared his throat. "Kallen…I do have a confession to make. Remember, originally, the Floor Guardians, and other members of Nazarick, save for the Supreme Beings, are creations of the Supreme Beings. Your love for me…it was an alteration made by me to Tabula Smaragdina's original plan for you. It was a foolish decision made on a whim, and…"

"…My lord, please. Does my devotion, my love bother you?"

"It would only bother me if it disrupted the harmony within Ainz Ooal Gown," Lelouch half-lied. "But I changed the backstory Tabula gave you…"

"My creator, I am sure, would forgive you if he were present, Lord Momonga. He would view it as an amusing elopement, I am sure," Kallen said serenely. "And in truth, I felt a hole where my heart was, even in my life as Kallen Kozuki. My brother Naoto filled it enough with sibling love, and I will always be grateful to him for being a good sibling to me. You make me whole, Momonga, and I forgive you for the trespass you believe you committed. Because you stayed with us to the end, and now, you have come back to give us purpose once more."

Lelouch was heartened a little. It may have been Albedo's rationalisation, but he hoped Tabula would have forgiven him. So he thus turned his attention to Milly. "So, what is on the agenda today, aside from classes?"

"I intend to invite Kallen," Milly said, shooting Kallen a venomous glance, "to the Student Council. The cover story is that, as Kallen claimed illness for her frequent absences, I decided to bring her into a student organisation that wouldn't require physical exertion. In truth, it will allow her to come into the Council without arousing undue suspicion. As everyone else in the Council is a glorious member of Ainz Ooal Gown, we can use the Council as a cover for planning many of our activities."

"Good idea, Milly," Lelouch said. "However, as a fellow conspirator, we may need to bring CC into the student council somehow."

"I have already thought of that. CC can act as Nunnally's nurse. With the appropriate costume…I believe she can play the part very well." She whipped out a costume from seemingly out of nowhere. "Ta-dah!"

Lelouch stared. While what Milly was showing off did technically count as a nurse's uniform, given the white colouration and the red cross emblazoned rather prominently on certain areas, it was also a mite…skimpy. Not to mention mostly made of latex and PVC. _Oh for God's sake, Peroroncino_ , he groaned inwardly, _did you really have to have her into naughty nurse fetishes?_ Then again, that was pretty tame compared to some of the other stuff Peroroncino got off on…

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Lelouch and CC are having a discussion, and we've had Kallen and Milly being scolded by Nunnally.**

 **I actually realised, Shizu Delta as being part of a mech is older than I thought. There's a story by lord of the land of fire (sadly on hiatus, as it's a good story) called** ** _And They Call It Peace_** **, where Nazarick ends up on a post-apocalyptic world (not Earth), and the cover image shows Shizu either wearing a mech suit or integrated into it. Maybe I was thinking of that cover image unconsciously…**

 **Now, I've actually decided that we will have one other member of Ainz Ooal Gown, as in one of the Players, be reincarnated as a** ** _Code Geass_** **character, and a particularly important one at that. Their debut proper won't be until Chapter 7, but I think it'll be worth the wait for you guys. Admittedly, I am diddling around with** ** _Overlord_** **lore a little here, but they are NOT an OC, they will be one of the more prominent Players…reincarnated as one of the more prominent characters of** ** _Code Geass_** **.**

 **Review-answering time! Wow, I'm surprised at the sheer amount of attention this fic has gotten already. Then again, there's not enough** ** _Overlord_** **crossovers, are there? I've put challenges on the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf, people, why not give them a go?**

 **coduss** **: They're basically human, but with the same stats as the characters. However, because they are biologically human, they're not affected by certain weaknesses (like holy light and fire to undead creatures), but they also lack their racial perks. Not the racial** ** _levels_** **, mind. As for whether they're immortal or not…I'm gonna say, what the hell, and say yes, after a certain point, they'll stop aging. They're not immortal in the same way CC is, though. They're ridiculously durable, but if something came along capable of matching their stats, they'd still die, though they can also be resurrected.**

 **I answered** **Voltrasin** **'s review in correspondence, but I will point out that the whole 'Albedo is a bitch' thing came from the official English translations of the light novels, the manga, and the anime. I dunno where the whole 'slut' thing came from (I would say the original webnovel, but Albedo doesn't exist in that).**

 **framfrit** **: Crap, I forgot about Ariadne entirely, and I only just recently read Book 7's official release a little while ago. I've written in an explanation in a later chapter, saying that somehow Ariadne crashed or deactivated.**

 **Vossoch** **: I basically described Aura and Mare as they were before they were changed into Rivalz and Nina respectively. I thought I made that clear.**

 **dragon-cloud16** **: Yeah, that sort of end for VV really appeals to me. I think I might have Nunnally/Entoma sting him to death with wasps. I admit, I hadn't thought about how to heal Nunnally with magic, so I'm bringing it up in a later chapter. Personally, I'm not sure what magic can do for really old wounds and scars, though given how Sebas is able to use a magic scroll to heal what was done to Tsuare over what has to be months if not years of sex slavery, it might be possible.**

 **No numbered annotations for this chapter.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Man with a Plan

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **THE MAN WITH A PLAN**

Lelouch looked at the gathered members of the Student Council. All of them the beloved NPCs created by his friends, the other members of Ainz Ooal Gown…no, the Players. Because as far as he was concerned, these NPCs had gained the right to be members of Ainz Ooal Gown. Not just minions, not just NPCs, but people in their own right.

Rivalz and Milly, their old rivalry as Aura and Shalltear (itself a proxy of the adversarial but still loving sibling relationship between BubblingTeapot and Peroroncino) renewed, were bickering about some issue or other. Nunnally, Shirley and Sayoko, aka Entoma, Solution and Narberal of the Pleiades, were gossiping in the corner. Kallen and CC, however, had been summoned over by Nina, formerly Mare. The timidity of the Dark Elf from his backstory had transferred over to Nina, but so too did his intelligence. True, some of Nina's timidity had come about because of an attack by Japanese, leading to a xenophobia that had now died away, but now, it seemed to be…well, natural.

That being said, Nina may have been timid, but she was still powerful. Lelouch knew that, as a Level 100 NPC, her physical strength, while weak by comparison to other Floor Guardians, was probably enough to deal with any would-be attackers. And she wasn't afraid, albeit with prompting, to divulge honest opinions and volunteer information.

"I didn't tell you about this before because…well, it was a pet project of mine," Nina said, avoiding stammering as they clustered around her computer. "I have been working on nuclear physics, specifically the power production potential of fissile uranium."

Lelouch frowned. "Nuclear power?"

Nina nodded. "Sakuradite is the main source of power in Knightmare Frames, amongst other uses, but it has its limits. At the time, I thought uranium would be a better bet, if only because of energy output."

"True, but toxic byproducts were a problem back in my original world," Lelouch mused. "Nuclear fusion was developed too late to be of any use. Do you think you can work out a means of nuclear fusion?"

Nina nodded. "But…I also know about the potential for this process to become a weapon. A runaway chain reaction of Uranium-235…"

"Yes. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were devastated by the first nuclear weapons in my original world," Lelouch mused. "Uranium and plutonium were used for fission bombs, and hydrogen fusion for fusion bombs. Are you suggesting we develop and use them ourselves?"

"Umm…if necessary, Lord Momonga," Nina said hesitantly. "If we use something like this, it could wipe out a city in seconds. And while I may be the first in this world to create it, it doesn't mean other people can't think of the same weapon."

Lelouch nodded. He knew a little of the problems involved with nuclear fusion, like containing the plasma. "Nina…could a nuclear fusion reaction be contained with modern technology, or any magical field that we could create?"

"…I don't know. It's possible, but I had been concentrating on nuclear fission," the petite girl with the dark green hair and now mismatched eyes admitted.

"Very well. Make researching nuclear fission and fusion a top priority. Weapons R&D for the former, and both power generation and weapons R&D for the latter," Lelouch declared. "I have faith in you, Nina."

"I won't let you down!" Nina said.

"Nina, I don't care if you make mistakes, as long as they don't happen when we need it most. Best to make the mistakes on the drawing board and catch them there, than to make them when we need things to run smoothly."

"Using a weapon of mass destruction?" CC asked. "Didn't you say you were going to avoid killing the innocent?"

"On my original world, nuclear weapons were mostly used as a deterrent, a threat," Lelouch said. "In any case, Nina's work is only the starting theory of nuclear fission. It took three years for the Manhattan Project to create a working nuclear weapon, from 1942 to 1945. The first nuclear reactor was created in '42. In a squash court at the University of Chicago, actually(1)." On their looks, he said, "I did this for a school project. History. Still, the Manhattan Project didn't really have this level of computer technology."

Suddenly, Lelouch got a Message from Gottwald. _Lord Momonga? It is I, Sebas_.

Lelouch sighed, before answering it. He'd chewed out Sebas for joining the Purist Faction, which seemed counter to the butler's sense of honour (which he was sure he had from Touch Me), and Sebas had sworn that he would do better. He had joined the Purists to retain his position after Marianne was murdered, and to take revenge on the Japanese he had thought had murdered Lelouch and Nunnally. Sebas had offered to take his own life in penance, but Lelouch had stopped him, saying the best penance was to do his bidding from within the system. _Yes, Sebas?_

 _We have something of a problem. Your destruction of Prince Clovis' transport has not gone unnoticed. The current theory bandied about by the rest of the Purist Faction is that a novel type of bomb has been developed by either the Chinese Federation or the Euro-Universe, and they had supplied the bomb to an assassin or one of the terrorist cells. While I have encouraged this view, one of my underlings, Kewell Soresi, has decided to find a scapegoat. Namely, an Honorary Britannian. They have chosen Suzaku, that is to say, Cocytus. They are currently intending to bring him into custody. I warned Cocytus and told him that, until I got orders from you, to not resist_.

Lelouch frowned. While Suzaku with Cocytus' abilities could easily tear any arresting officers apart, they didn't want to tip their hand too soon, not in that manner. Suzaku, while an Honorary Britannian, was placed enough within Camelot as the Lancelot's pilot to be a good mole, alongside Demiurge, Yuri, and Shizu.

He was considering a number of ways to rescue Suzaku and clear his name in some way, when something audacious occurred to him. Satoru Suzuki would never have considered such a thing, in real life or under the mask of Momonga…but Lelouch vi Britannia relished performing. This could be a perfect way to debut his new persona to the world. True, it would reveal that he was somehow responsible for using Fallen Down on Clovis' mobile HQ…but maybe the benefitss would outweigh the risks. He would also say that he stole the weapon that caused Fallen Down, from a foreign power, hinting that the Chinese or the Europeans had developed it, but also stating that he was independent of their influence.

His mind made up, he said, _Sebas, I'll contact Cocytus. I will have you two, along with Lupusregina, play along with this farce. Let me know when the sham of a trial will occur. I am assuming there will be a kangaroo court for appearances' sake?_

 _Indeed, my lord. The date is for a few days from now._

 _Very well. That gives me time to prepare_ …

* * *

Lelouch idly wondered whether he should recruit Kallen's rebel cell to his cause for this. However, Kallen and Tamaki's loyalties were assured already, and he could recruit the other reborn NPCs of Nazarick to help. Kallen was eager to help out: in her past life as Albedo, her defensive capabilities would be useful as a bodyguard if things went south.

That being said, he asked Kallen her honest opinion whether he should meet with them prior to this. Kallen actually gave it some thought, before saying yes. But only as an introduction to Zero. The act of rescuing Suzaku would be further incentive for them to join, if only because Lelouch would have pulled off the impossible. True, it would have been easier if Lelouch had somehow managed to lead them to victory in Shinjuku, but he had been more preoccupied with stopping Clovis outright. If anything, he managed to save more lives by heading there sooner.

The cover story would go like this: Kallen had discovered a phone with a note from the mysterious Zero. Zero had claimed responsibility for Clovis' death, and wished to speak with Kallen's cell. True, it would arouse suspicions, but Kallen knew that at least Kaname Ohgi, the leader of the cell, would be willing to meet.

Zero would actually call Ohgi to arrange a meeting. So when Kallen sent him a Message saying that all was ready, Lelouch smirked. He activated his mobile, complete with a vocoder to change his voice, and waited for it to connect. Eventually, it was picked up. " _Hello?_ "

His now-distorted voice rang through the speaker. " _Good evening, Kaname Ohgi. You may call me Zero. If you are unsure as to how I learned of your identity and Kallen's connection to your cell, I have ways and means. Before we go on, though, I have one vital question to ask you. What did you intend to do with that poison gas capsule? Use it?_ "

" _NO! No, we…we were going to use it to expose Clovis' crimes to the world!_ "

" _Good. While some deaths may be inevitable in what could be rather cynically called our line of work, there are necessary and unnecessary deaths. I hope to work with your group in the future, Kaname Ohgi, and I would rather not work with indiscriminate killers. That is why I sought out Clovis and put paid to him. I was…admittedly_ _ **furious**_ _with what he did to the people of Shinjuku. You saw the end result. I forced him to call a ceasefire at gunpoint, and then destroyed his HQ._ "

"… _How did you do that? What sort of bomb was it?_ "

" _It was an experimental weapon contacts of mine stole from the Chinese Federation not long ago. I have no love for the High Eunuchs and their underlings, to say nothing of the Euro-Universe. And, of course, the Britannians have roused my ire. I have personal reasons to humble them. I used it on Clovis as a means of misdirection that has failed, given that they have made Suzaku Kururugi a scapegoat, and they have made no claims as yet of him being an agent of the Chinese. I intend to rescue him. I don't intend to bring anyone in your group into it for now, but I intend to meet you tomorrow afternoon. I cannot assure you that you will win against Britannia under my banner…but I can assure you that you will be able to do than give them mere fleabitings…_ "

* * *

Ohgi eventually agreed, along with some of his group, including Kallen, to meet them tomorrow afternoon. By now, Lelouch's costume as Zero had been created, and while not quite up to the level of protection as his robes as Momonga were, he was certain it'd stand up to most firearms and edged weapons, not to mention fire. In fact, given his estimation of forces, it would probably protect him even from a building falling on him or a Knightmare stepping on him…though he had little desire to test that out.

If he did recruit human resistance fighters to his cause, then he intended for them to get at least some protection. Creating items using what was in the Treasury was easy enough, and they had figured out how to create bulletproof clothes at least. True, they needed to replenish the Treasury, but the Exchange Box would help in that regard. The coins produced could be used to buy many of the things they required.

And they still had the World Items if necessary as a trump card. Eleven World Items. Kallen, as Albedo, had access to one of them, but most of the others were in the Treasury. Since magic already worked along similar lines to Yggdrasil, it was safe to say that. Hell, Lelouch would probably count the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown as a World Item, given its sheer OP nature.

He did have some problems, though. If he was going to be helping out human rebels, they would react badly to his overlord abilities, which frequently revolved around death spells and necromancy. So he'd have to be careful in that regard.

When the time finally came, he led, via phone messages, Kallen, Ohgi, Tamaki and a couple of their allies onto a train, the passengers all Geassed. He called Ohgi on the phone as they travelled. " _Tell me, Kaname Ohgi, look out of the window to your right. Tell me, what do you see?_ "

"… _The Britannian Settlement. A gaudy, shiny city they have us build with our flesh and blood, and polish with our sweat and tears._ "

" _And on the left?_ "

"… _Our city, now a ghetto, a ruined, decaying cadaver the Britannians left us with. A cage to die by degrees in._ "

Lelouch nodded, resisting the urge to chuckle. " _Good answers. Come into the next carriage._ "

Once they came through, they began asking questions, even with his back turned to them. Kallen and Tamaki played their roles well, the latter getting belligerent. And then, Lelouch turned around just as the train entered a tunnel. The part of him that was still Satoru Suzuki cheered at the sheer awesomeness of such a thing.

" _Greetings_ ," Lelouch said. " _I am Zero_."

"…So you're the one who was behind the ceasefire?" Ohgi asked.

" _And the later death of Clovis, yes_ ," Lelouch added. " _Stopping the massacre was a matter of principle for me. Clovis' death was…admittedly for more personal reasons. But to business. How did you enjoy the tour of the settlement and the ghetto?_ "

"Tour?!" Kallen yelped, playing the role of an enraged rebel to the hilt.

" _Why, yes. It was a means of emphasising the differences between you and them. I am sure you already are aware of the chasm that yawns betwixt Britannians and Japanese, or indeed any other nation made into Numbers. However, you also fail to realise that your acts of rebellion, not to mention the terrorist acts carried out by more ruthless groups, are little more than irritations to the Britannians, as if you were little more than mosquitos, easily swatted._ "

"Stop treating us like we're kids, dammit!" Tamaki snarled, playing his own role well.

" _Then pay attention. Your enemy is not the Britannian people. Like it or not, it is Britannia, and more specifically, its current ideology, espoused by Charles zi Britannia, that is your enemy! You are fighting a_ _ **war!**_ _Still, words as you well know, are cheap. Would you prefer that I do the impossible once more? I will rescue Suzaku Kururugi, in public, with no civilian casualties, and perhaps even no military ones too. It would be too much of me to demand your help, but if a couple of you would do so…then I would be grateful._ "

Ohgi frowned. "…Zero…are you alone, or part of a group yourself?"

" _I am indeed part of a group. I lead a group that is a champion of justice, a champion of the underdog and the oppressed. I doubt you would have heard of our name yet…but I lead Ainz Ooal Gown. Founded by those frustrated with injustice and inequality, of the strong stepping on the weak. Shinjuku was our debut in Japan, albeit unofficially. But rescuing Suzaku Kururugi will be our true debut to the rest of the world_ …"

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Lelouch has made his spiel to Ohgi in order to have them help him 'rescue' Suzaku, and Nina/Mare and Lelouch have had a discussion about nuclear weapons.**

 **Before I get onto the reviews, given the popularity of this work so far, I'd like to plug a couple of other** ** _Overlord_** **projects of mine. Now, most of you are probably aware of my Potterverse crossover** ** _Yield to the Darkness_** **, but I also have a** ** _Red vs Blue_** **crossover called** ** _Xenagogy for Belligerent AIs and Dungeon Denizens_** **. If you want to see a story where Church takes the place of Momonga, then that's the one to read.**

 **In addition, I'd also like to plug another one of my** ** _Overlord_** **-related challenges. 'An OP Player in a Game of Thrones' was my attempt to redress what I thought was a gaping lack in** ** _Overlord_** **crossovers. I mean, can you imagine what Momonga and Nazarick would do to Westeros or Essos? If you want details, go look for it in the forums of DZ2 and whitetigerwolf, and feel free to take it up if you feel up to it.**

 **Incidentally, if any of you guys want any more** ** _Overlord_** **fics, I can give some recommendations. Let me know in reviews for this chapter, and I'll post them with the next one. I'd add** ** _Code Geass_** **ones, but I've already mentioned the better ones in my previous annotations.**

 **Review-answering time! A lot of you have suggested having Lelouch use the Shooting Star ring. I'll use that in a later chapter, with Lelouch-Momonga facepalming at not having thought of it sooner. I certainly was.**

 **edboy4926** **: I'll consider doing that once Rakshata comes on the scene.**

 **framfrit** **: I haven't read that book in question (then again, it's not being officially released in English until next year), but Lelouch-Momonga won't be using that particular spell. He's going to be fairly PR conscious, and is going to avoid using spells like that. Also, while Albedo is still a** ** _yandere_** **here, she is less likely to be as bad as she is in canon for various reasons.**

 **Malhavoc Shadowlord** **: For a time, I wasn't sure whether to make Milly Shalltear and Kallen Albedo, or the other way around (which was suggested by Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros in PM correspondence), but I eventually decided that, given Milly's more overtly perverted nature, she actually fit Shalltear a lot better, especially given Shalltear's origins.**

 **Guest** **(regarding the choice of 'elopement' over 'development'): Actually, elopement was the correct term. In the original, Albedo compared it to a father forgiving his daughter for getting married without his knowledge.**

 **Tanya von Degurechaff** **: Firstly, I loved reading the first** ** _The Saga of Tanya the Evil_** **book, and I intend to read the next one soon. Secondly, Zane Tribal Tyne Alexandros did suggest Pandora's Actor as Gottwald, but I eventually decided to go with my original plan of Sebas.**

 **1\. No, really, the first nuclear reactor was created in a squash court. I actually learned about this quite by chance, as it was actually used as the basis of a joke in the very first** ** _Science of Discworld_** **book, which I recommend. Satoru Suzuki's world may have ensured education was not often given to lower classes, but given his knowledge of various things, I decided that he got a fairly basic education at school, something his parents had to save up a lot for.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Debut

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **THE DEBUT**

 _How are you holding up, Suzaku?_ Lelouch asked as he waited in a junkyard for Kallen and whoever she managed to wrangle to her side to arrive. Tamaki was going to stay as a voice of dissent, to sell his role, and it was unlikely the cell, given Kallen's intelligence on it, would join wholeheartedly, at least just yet.

 _Well enough, Lord Momonga. I find it strange to address you as such_ , the former insectoid being sent back. _We became like brothers when you and Nunnally were sent here as hostages by that vile fool you are forced by circumstance to call a father_.

Lelouch chuckled. _If you wish to call me Lelouch, that is fine. There's a difference between deference and hollow bowing and scraping. But are you fine, Suzaku?_

 _Well enough, I supposed, Lord Mo…I mean, Lelouch. My strength as a Floor Guardian allows me to endure this discomfort, and I take comfort in knowing that this will be part of the plan. In any case, what can these dishonourable fools do to a Floor Guardian?_

 _True, but we shouldn't take too many chances_ , Lelouch sent. _The more we show our true power, the more likely that some escalation that will get too many innocents caught up will take place. In addition, the power of Geass, which appears to be unique to this world, is another complicating factor. While many of us, particularly the undead characters, should be immune to mind control, that's within the rules of_ Yggdrasil. _CC has already stated that there are a variety of Geass users, and that she is one of at least two people capable of granting them. In addition, my father has a Geass of unknown ability. We move, then, with an appropriate amount of caution. Not so much as to be practically immobile, not like the JLF, who seem to be content with propaganda lately. But we will act as if this is still_ Yggdrasil, _and that there are beings capable of being a threat, even subverting the Floor Guardians and the like. That is to say, not with total secrecy or immobility, but rather, we take calculated risks._

 _Then why announce your presence?_

 _I told you, Suzaku, we're putting the Britannians on notice. Through this, Sebas and Lupusregina, in their guises as Gottwald and Nu, will come out, if not smelling of roses, then at least not having the stink of crap sticking to them. And if the Purist Faction is completely disbanded here in Japan, then that means that they can merely return to Nazarick. True, I will have lost a pair of useful moles within the system, but there is more than one way to skin a cat_. Lelouch grimaced when he remembered an anecdote Ulbert had relayed from his childhood, of how desperate he got for food.

 _I see. Forgive the questions, Lelouch._

 _There is nothing to forgive, Suzaku. I may be your leader, but if there is something that needs clarifying, and I do not need to conceal it, then I will gladly divulge it. And if you need to question part of the plan, and have a better idea, then I will listen. I may not follow the idea, but I_ _ **will**_ _listen._

 _Thank you, Lelouch. You magnanimity knows no bounds_. Things were quiet on Suzaku's end, and Lelouch nearly thought the conversation over, until Suzaku added, tentatively, _I have a confession to make, Lelouch._

 _What is it, Suzaku?_

 _The people believe that my father surrendered Japan to the Britannians and then committed suicide_ , Suzaku said hesitantly. _In truth…he was intending to order an all-out resistance, to the death. And he intended it for every Japanese, not just the soldiers, but every man, woman, and child. He…thought it better than subjugation. I heard him, and protested. I eventually killed him myself. Until I recovered my memories as Cocytus…I had joined the Britannian military as a means to atone, to try and change the system from within, or die trying_.

Lelouch was shocked. Had his friend actually done that? And at the age of ten? _How many other people know of this, aside from us?_

 _Very few. My actions were covered up._

 _Hmm. Suzaku, make your loyalty to me, to Ainz Ooal Gown, paramount from now on. That shall be your atonement. While we cannot change the world without getting our hands dirty, I will try to ensure that our ascendancy is one that we can live with ourselves doing. I would have more of the blood of the guilty on our swords than the blood of the innocent on our hands._

 _Very well, Lelouch. Your will be done. After you free me, what then?_

 _Play the part of a good little Honorary Britannian and head to your court martial. By the time I'm done, they'll have little choice but to throw the case out. Allow them to debrief you, and tell the truth, or at least what Suzaku Kururugi would know, rather than Floor Guardian Cocytus would know. Hopefully, you will be allowed to return to Demiurge and Yuri_.

Suzaku's nervous chuckles echoed down the line, a hint of his human side compared to the insectoid Cocytus. _I'm still a bit bemused that the Lancelot is Shizu Delta. Demiurge has gotten it into his head that I would be a perfect pilot for her, and she's telling me to be gentle with her_.

Lelouch snickered, before he saw movement in the junkyard. Kallen and Ohgi were approaching. _I've got to go. Hang tight, Suzaku_ …

* * *

Kaname Ohgi, Lelouch reflected, was a good man. True, he was a touch ineffectual, not as great a leader of Kallen's rebel cell compared to Kallen's own brother, Naoto, but he fought for the right reasons, not just revenge on Britannia, but to regain his people's standing. There was something of him that reminded Lelouch of Touch Me. Of all the former members of Ainz Ooal Gown, it was Touch Me that Lelouch liked the best. While he was friends with many, Touch Me's adherence to his sense of justice was admirable. And given his wife and children, Lelouch could understand him stepping down as Guild Master. It was thanks to Touch Me that Lelouch, as Momonga, even bothered to keep playing _Yggdrasil_.

Lelouch would have dearly loved to have revealed his true face to Ohgi, to reveal the truth, but leaving aside the whole 'exiled Britannian prince' thing, if Lelouch confessed the truth about himself and Ainz Ooal Gown, he'd probably be considered insane at best. And at worst…well, considering that Ainz Ooal Gown was filled with inhuman monsters…he'd certainly react badly to learning Kallen was actually a succubus.

Still, Ohgi had agreed to be part of this operation. They had Eight-Edged Assassins on stand-by if things went really badly. A key part of playing any MMORPG, especially where difficult missions were involved, was to prepare for the worst. Of course, it was different in this reality compared to _Yggdrasil_ , but the same need for preparations to cover as many contingencies as possible applied.

Their plan was to take a junked truck of the same make and model as what Lelouch and Kallen liked to call Clovis' 'pimpmobile', and have Kallen drive it, disguised as a chauffeur. Lelouch, in his costume as Zero, would sit at the top, ready to grandstand. Hidden behind him, ready to be unveiled at a moment's notice, would be the so-called 'poison gas' capsule that had actually contained CC. He would use his Geass on Kewell, accompanied by a portentous bluff that would make it seem like Kewell had some deep, dark secret in his past that Lelouch had uncovered. Kewell's reputation would be in tatters, Suzaku would be freed, and Lelouch, under the guise of Zero, will have made his debut to the world, announcing the advent of Ainz Ooal Gown.

He would ask what could possibly go wrong, but that would be daring the universe to ensure something did go wrong. Instead, he helped direct the preparations to the decoy 'pimpmobile', ready to showcase his introduction…

* * *

 _Sometimes, there's not enough vomit in the world_ , Diethard Ried thought mutinously(1). He wanted to do more than pump out propaganda for the sake of Britannia. He wanted to be there when history truly happened, but instead, here he was, stage-managing one of the Purist Faction's little dramas from an Outside Broadcast unit van.

Anyone with half a brain (which sadly excluded much of the human race) could tell that this was a farce, a show. Suzaku Kururugi was unlikely to have gotten close enough to the Viceroy to plant any kind of bomb, or indeed have an opportunity to assassinate him by most means. It seemed, given what the placement was, that Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald agreed: he was allowing his subordinate take centre stage, a veiled way of showing that, if things fucked up, then Kewell Soresi was the one to take the fall. And Kururugi was standing there stoically, a shock collar around his neck (activated by an attempt to talk, or remotely, Ried wagered).

Every member of the Royal Family had enemies somewhere in the court at Pendragon: a Britannian from a rival faction was more likely to have done so. And a rebellious Eleven could have gotten lucky, somehow. Not to mention agents of either the Chinese Federation or the Euro-Universe. It would explain the mysterious explosion that had been witnessed from afar, though what sort of bomb caused that, Ried didn't know.

Still, Clovis' death had caused a power vacuum. For now, Margrave Gottwald and the Purists had taken charge. Rumour had it that Clovis' replacement would be Princess Cornelia, the so-called 'Goddess of Victory'. Ried would have sneered at such a title, but he knew that Cornelia had earned it, and was earning it even at this moment in the Middle East. Pacifying unruly Numbers was a specialty of hers, and Clovis' death was sure to make the various insurgents and terrorists bolder.

Ried was brought out of his reverie when the convoy stopped. And approaching the convoy…was that Clovis' personal transport? That ostentatious piece of shit? It would have been locked up safely in a garage. Draped over the front was the Britannian flag.

Eventually, it came to a halt, and Kewell had demanded that whoever had the temerity to defile Clovis' transport show themselves. And so they did, in spectacular fashion. The flag burned away, revealing a most extraordinary figure perched on the platform, in front of a large box or crate. Draped in a cloak, with a featureless mask concealing its features, it was certainly very striking.

" _I AM…_ _ **ZERO!**_ " the figure proclaimed, their voice loud, and distorted by some sort of voice changer.

Even as Zero and Kewell exchanged words, and the box fell apart to reveal… _something_ , some sort of capsule which the Purebloods seemed to panic upon seeing, Ried realised he was witnessing history in the making. For all this masked man's suicidal audacity, Ried also knew that this was brilliant. Eventually, he snapped, "Unit 6, boost the sound and get your camera as close to him as possible!"

" _Sir, it's too dangerous out here, and_ …"

 _Amateurs!_ Ried snarled inwardly. He snatched up a camera and dashed out of the OB unit van. He got to where Zero was demanding an exchange of whatever the hell that thing was for Kururugi. And when Kewell refused, Zero then dropped the bombshell, actually turning to peer down the lens of the camera Ried was wielding.

" _The one who killed Clovis was none other than myself!_ "

 _Well, you've got to give it to this guy, he's enjoying this performance_ , Ried thought. _A good sense of the dramatic_.

As Kewell threatened Zero, Zero then dropped the bombshell that took things to the next level. " _I'd be careful what you do and say, Kewell Soresi. Do you think I acted alone, in total isolation? We of Ainz Ooal Gown have been preparing for a long time, digging up dirt on our enemies. Do you really think we couldn't find out about 'Orange'?_ "

Confusion spread throughout those present. And then, Zero said, " _If you don't want the details of_ _ **that**_ _sordid little part of your life going public, then_ _you will do everything in your power to allow us and Kururugi go!_ "

And to Ried's astonishment, Kewell did just that, despite Gottwald and Nu interfering. He cackled inwardly at the chaos this was causing. And what was that Ainz Ooal Gown thing that they mentioned? Sounded like a bunch of nonsense words. Not English, not Japanese…so who would name their organisation that?

Still, Ried had wanted to see history in the making. And as Zero, his accomplice driving that gaudy transport of Clovis', and Kururugi made their escape, he knew that was precisely what he was witnessing…

* * *

In a guarded hotel room in the Britannian Settlement, violet eyes widened in surprise when their owner heard the name 'Ainz Ooal Gown'. Quietly, to herself, she murmured, "Momonga…if that's you…what have you done?"

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Suzaku's staged rescue and Kewell being framed has gone off without a hitch. But who has just recognised the name of Ainz Ooal Gown?**

 **I decided to show the debut of Zero (albeit in abbreviated form) wholly from the POV of Diethard Ried, partly because I wanted to have a relatively fresh take on the scene.**

 **Before I get onto the reviews, I promised some recommendations for** ** _Overlord_** **stories if people asked for them. Well, level 20 fnaf man did ask for them, so I'll list them here.**

 ** _And They Call It Peace_** **by lord of the land of fire: You'd probably know the author, but not this story. It basically has Nazarick transported to a post-apocalyptic world (not Earth). Sadly, it is probably a dead fic, but well worth a look.**

 ** _A Chemist in King Ainz's Court_** **by The Blight: What other fanfic starts with someone making a serious request for urine and faeces? This story has Genjiro, the canon Player who created Entoma (though he is basically an OC) joining Momonga at around the beginning of Book 2. What's more, he's a chemist, and thus uses his knowledge and whatever supplies he can get to create gunpowder and explosives, a boon in a medieval society. It's on hiatus, but given the adorable father-daughter relationship between Genjiro and Entoma, it is still worth a read.**

 ** _Godsfall_** **by Shurpuff: What if Momonga never went with Nazarick to the New World? What if he, and his friends, joined** ** _Yggdrasil 2_** **? And what if, somehow, they were transported to the New World? A world that has suffered the attentions of the Floor Guardians and the Pleiades for years? A very dark story, but a good one.**

 ** _The Antichrist Cometh_** **by GoodguysRoverated: Momonga is a vampire instead of a lich. He's also much more embittered about his friends leaving him, and so decides on a quest of conquest much earlier on. Oh dear.**

 ** _Six Paths of Overpowered_** **by SaveTheWeak: A** ** _Naruto_** **crossover, one of two that I know of where Madara Uchiha ends up in the New World. I personally prefer this one.**

 ** _Fate Overlord_** **by Leona-do: A** ** _Fate/Stay Night_** **crossover where Shirou ends up saving the villagers of Carne…though that doesn't mean Momonga is out of the picture.**

 ** _Death Parade of a Benevolent Overlord_** **by Overfic23: A Harry Potter crossover where a female Harry is adopted by Momonga (Nazarick having ended up in the Potterverse). It's still in its early stages, but it's promising, and has a lovely maternal Albedo.**

 ** _The Master of Death in Nazarik_** **and** ** _Harry Potter and the Return to the First Life_** **by dEBB987: A Potterverse crossover pair which is entertaining. The former is a straightforward crossover, with a MoD Harry instead of Momonga, while the latter is a sequel (written before the former is even finished) where Harry is summoned back to the past, along with the Floor Guardians, by a wizard who wants the Death Eaters dealt with.**

 ** _Sage of the Forest_** **by NeonZangetsu: Yeah, one of this guy's, but it's pretty good, though it'll probably update at a snail's pace. It's a** ** _Naruto_** **crossover where Naruto headed up a rival guild to Ainz Ooal Gown.**

 **Review-answering time!** **WarlockMastersOfTimeAndSpace** **: Firstly, go get the light novels at least, if not watching the anime. You'll love them…well, most of them. Books 4 and 7 are the weaker books of the series so far IMO, partly due to the lessened emphasis on the main characters, but they're not bad by any means. Secondly, Jeremiah and Suzaku were two of the trickier ones to find reincarnations for. You have valid points, but keep in mind, I also based it on more subtleties of their character. Sebas, for all his honour and good nature, is still a fairly harsh man in some regards: in Book 5, he only resolves to save the life of Tsuare when she shows she actually shows she has the** ** _will_** **to live, and is a mentor figure to others. He, like Gottwald is in later parts, fits a 'retainer' role. Cocytus is also honourable, but he also has a more straightforward, 'taking orders' attitude, eager to please his master. So while you have valid points, so do I, and in the end, I am the one writing this. That being said, I'm glad you enjoyed the story so far.**

 **1\. This was inspired by the** ** _Everything, Etc_** **episode of** ** _QI_** **. In that episode, Clive Anderson's buzzer is a soundbite from** ** _(Everything I Do) I Do It For You_** **by Bryan Adams. Ried's thoughts are a paraphrase of Stephen Fry's response.**


	8. Chapter 7: You Are Not Alone

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **YOU ARE NOT ALONE**

"Well, you've made your big debut, boy," CC said the next morning, as they had breakfast. Nunnally, along with the members of the Student Council (sans Kallen), were doing so too. Their breakfast had been served by Pestonia S Puppydog(1), who had the body of a beautiful woman, but a scarred dog's head on that. Still, Pestonia, the head of the homunculi maids of Nazarick (but not the Pleiades, who were led by Sebas), was one of the better-natured NPCs.

"Yes. I managed to rescue Suzaku, who has reported that his court martial has proceeded according to our plan rather than Kewell's. Jeremiah has now thrown Kewell into a holding cell, and is hurriedly trying to polish things up before Cornelia arrives. And Zero is already making a splash on the world's media. Still, this is where things get even more dangerous. We've drawn attention to Ainz Ooal Gown, and Cornelia's a much better military commander than Clovis."

"And you still hold some feelings for her, don't you, big brother?" Nunnally said.

"I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Of our siblings, aside from Nunnally, obviously, I liked Euphemia and Cornelia best. Cornelia idolised my mother, and Euphemia was sweet and, well, nice, genuinely so."

"I'm surprised that she managed to endure that cesspit of a family of yours, then," Milly remarked. "Then again, with our family having been part of the court in Britannia before, I know for a fact that Cornelia protected her. Still, what are you going to do with her?"

"Sow discord. Cornelia will doubtlessly be partly motivated for revenge against Clovis' killer. Have we made any inroads to capturing General Aspirius?"

"He was taken into custody by the Purists in the wake of the attack on Clovis," Milly said, smirking. "Gottwald, or rather, Sebas, used the Puppeteer Palm to interrogate him as to the data mentioned by Clovis. While most of Code-R, as the project was called, had been dismantled or moved, the data still exists, and we have dispatched people to retrieve it."

"Good work," Lelouch said. "The reason why I bring that up is because, if Clovis' crimes are exposed, and in such a way that it doesn't endanger CC, Cornelia will have some of her resolve taken away. Oh, her resolve would still be strong to take me out, as an enemy of Britannia, but it would also be a PR disaster for the Britannians. We just need to find an avenue to exposing it via the media. Speaking of which, that man who filmed me last night, who is he?"

"Diethard Ried, according to Gottwald," Milly remarked with a sniff of disdain. "A petty little parasite of a pressman. He's a producer of news and current affairs programs here at Hi-TV, or at least the propaganda that passes for news here. I'll ask grandfather about him discreetly. Are you considering using him as your conduit to the press?"

"Perhaps. Does Jeremiah have an opinion of him?"

"I just expressed it. I only know of the man, whereas Gottwald's met him. Though thinking about his ilk puts me off my meal somewhat. My apologies, Pestonia."

"I am sorry you were put off your meal, Lady Shalltear, _woof_ ," Pestonia said.

"I'd like to add something, my lord," Shirley, aka Solution Epsilon, said. "According to Gottwald's report, my father was amongst the personnel named by Aspirius as a worker at Code-R. I confess to still having sentiments for him, so if his disposal becomes necessary, then I would like it to be swift."

"I'll consider it," Lelouch said. "If I can ensure his loyalty to Ainz Ooal Gown, I will avoid it. CC, do you have anything to add?"

"Not really."

"Hmm. I've asked Pandora's Actor about the Ariadne System, and judging by his response, the system either deactivated when the Tomb became real, or else it simply crashed(2). For now, I'm willing to let that state of affairs continue. The air is breathable within Nazarick, resources can be brought in and out via portals, and I'm not sure where to begin to try and excavate an entranceway. Seismographs may detect excavation that far underground. Another thing I want to try is enhancing Knightmare Frames with items from the Treasury to enhance their durability and offensive capability. I want something that, if necessary, can outperform Shizu's current body. After all, the Lancelot is a prototype of a seventh generation Knightmare Frame. If it or an equivalent gets mass-produced, we may need something to match it, especially if we need to get older models. We'll need to find ways to obtain Sutherlands at the very least, if not Gloucesters. Also, there is a point I should address. I will tell the other Floor Guardians and inhabitants of Nazarick where necessary, but I will make this clear right now. We will, in the end, ally ourselves with human groups. I know many of you will feel…ill at ease doing so. I ask for your indulgence, to hold your tongues."

A chorus of " _Understood_ " came in reply.

"Nunnally, how's the surveillance experiments going with your insects?" Lelouch asked.

"Very well, big brother. Few people pay attention to small amounts of insects, as long as they are relatively innocuous ones. Cockroaches are noticed rather swiftly, but flies, mosquitoes and small insects are less conspicuous. However, my control is limited, partly because my abilities are more designed for combat, not espionage. The further away my target is, the more control I have to exert."

"Good. We'll see if we can find a way to fix your spine. I should've brought Lupusregina in to try earlier, but with everything that's been happening…sorry, Nunnally."

"It's okay, big brother. Being the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick does come with many duties," Nunnally said. "And we have no guarantee that healing magic can heal such old injuries."

That was a good point, one that had been nagging at Lelouch. He had been worried that, even if he did try to heal Nunnally, it wouldn't work. Maybe he could use the Shooting Star ring he had? That her eyes had opened up during the reinstatement of her memories was a miracle itself, though the doctors he had examining her did tell him that her blindness was psychogenic. It wasn't nerve damage or any damage to the eye that blinded her, but the sheer trauma of seeing her mother died.

"Speaking of old injuries," Milly began, perhaps a little tactlessly, "how did you regain your eyesight, Nunnally? I remember the doctors my grandfather obtained for you saying that your blindness was born from the trauma at witnessing your mother's death, not from physical injury. So why did your blindness dispel itself when you regained your true memories?"

"That's a good question," Lelouch said. "Thoughts?"

"Maybe it was…like a status effect, a debuff?" Nina asked timidly. "In a way, what happened to us was like a resurrection spell, and that can remove debuffs most other spells can't. Maybe even those from World Items."

"Yeah, Nina's got a point," Rivalz said. "But…I also know my way around debuffs, being a tamer and all. Blindness effects generally affect the eyes directly. Wasn't Nunnally's brain affected? I mean, you've got a Geass that can take control of anyone, and we've heard from CC that there's some guy who can read minds. So, who's to say that her blindness wasn't caused by a Geass? I mean, there's the Emperor, not to mention others VV could have given the Geass to."

Lelouch looked to CC, who nodded. "It is possible. A Geass may have been used on Nunnally to blind her. In fact, it would explain a lot."

"The how, yes," Lelouch said, "but not the why."

"Protection, possibly," CC said. "Perversely enough, if Nunnally was seen to be blind, and could not remember or describe any assassins, then she might be safe from reprisals. Of course, it would also make Marianne's children look weak, or one of them at least, thus weakening their position at court."

"I don't actually remember anything of the sort. Just…the gunshots, my mother protecting me with her body…the pain…" Nunnally said, grimacing.

"I had sworn to bring to account those responsible," Lelouch said, gritting his teeth. "My resolve has not been shaken."

"Lelouch," Milly said, "if another of the Supreme Beings or other Players have ended up in this world…what do we do with them?"

"Ainz Ooal Gown was a Player Killer guild amongst other things, so its reputation wasn't the best for some," Lelouch said. "However, hopefully, the Players will be able to tell the difference between _Yggdrasil_ and reality, so unless they prove hostile, we treat them well. As for the Supreme Beings, I want you to all understand that any who turn up are to be treated as honoured guests. Don't get me wrong, I believe the odds of our finding anyone are slim, but…"

His thinking out loud was interrupted by a Message. No actual message, nobody's voice speaking yet, but there was something there…a sense of anticipation. As if he was called up by someone who was waiting for him to say… _Hello?_

 _Helloooo, Momongaaa!_

Lelouch actually recoiled at the lilting, sugary voice, both familiar and unfamiliar. It was a familiar voice, with familiar intonations, but the voice and the intonations didn't belong together, rendering the combined result unfamiliar. It took a moment for his mind to pick apart what he knew. The voice itself was maddeningly familiar, but he realised he remembered the intonations. They came from a very familiar place. On a whim, he took out a certain watch from his inventory, and fiddled with it, only to be greeted by a similarly sugary voice.

 _Hellooo, is there anyone there?_ the voice pouted. _Please don't tell me I gave you a heart attack, Momonga. After that performance you gave in front of so many Knightmares ready to turn you into mince_ …

 _I'm here, I'm here_ , Lelouch said hurriedly. Then, tentatively, scarcely daring to hope, he added, … _BubblingTeapot? Is that you?_

 _Yep!_ Then, her voice became a little more sombre, even a bit more recognisable. _I…I wanted to come to your little get-together, but I decided to do some PKing first, so I set off to do just that before the time came around. Came across some idiot going on about his rare Big Orange Ring, so I PKed him and stole it(_ _3)_ _. I mean, there were only a few hours left in the game. It took longer than I thought, though, and, well, I realised there were only a few minutes left. I made it to the Round Table, but I couldn't find you. I was panicking a little, didn't think to use a Message…and to tell the truth, I was in a bad way anyway_.

The emotion in her voice caught his notice. … _What happened?_

 _…My little brother was murdered the night before the_ Yggdrasil _shutdown_.

This was news to Lelouch. Peroroncino, murdered? His eyes flicked to Milly, wondering how best to tell her that her creator in another life was dead, before he went back to his conversation. _How? Who?_ he asked in shock.

 _Some bastard who mugged him while he was getting food from the convenience store_ , BubblingTeapot said with a snarl. _The police called me in to identify his body. Ugh, that was a saga. One of the cops recognised my voice from an H-Game I did, and made creepy remarks. Touch Me was there, and he told that guy off. By the way, he said to say sorry he couldn't make it to the reunion. Apparently he was going to a retirement party for one of his fellow officers_.

Lelouch nodded, acknowledging Touch Me's message. Still, most of him felt for BubblingTeapot. Peroroncino was dead? Wow. Peroroncino seemed like one of the sorts who'd live fast and die young (probably while fapping over some hentai), but still…getting killed by a mugger? His friend was dead because of some opportunistic arsehole.

Eventually, he said, gently, _I'm sorry about what happened. I really am. This…this is a bit much to take in. But…I need to know…why didn't you contact me earlier?_

 _You mean when I first regained my memories? I was panicking at remembering myself, and then, well, I went to private mode. It took me ages to figure out how to fix that, and I only really wanted to try and contact you after I saw that little performance_. A coy note entered her voice. _You always said I went over the top as a voice actress, but after seeing you as Zero, I think that's the pot calling the kettle black. I could smell the daikon from here. Or was that ham(_ _4)_ _?_

Lelouch rolled his eyes. _That was nothing compared to the performance on that watch you gave me. Seriously…I did not need to hear you screaming like_ _ **that**_ _when I set the watch_ _ **that**_ _way. But how did you know it was me?_

 _…You were the only member of Ainz Ooal Gown, apart from me, who was online at the time_ , BubblingTeapot said. It was a good guess. Well, unless HeroHero came back online at the last minute. _Look, I'm a bit busy at the moment…but I want to meet you_.

 _And meet the NPCs. Most of the Floor Guardians and the Pleiades have been reincarnated in this world_ , Lelouch said. _That includes Aura and Mare…though they have swapped genders, so they're technically not crossdressing anymore._

 _Oh? Really? I need to see this for myself. And my brother's creation?_

 _Yes, she's aware. I'll let her know. Where are you?_

 _I'm in the Britannian Settlement. I'm…well, without spoiling the surprise, I'm being looked after by some very overprotective people, so I thought I'd go and sightsee. I'll be escaping very soon. See you soon, Momongaaa_ …

* * *

Milly, predictably, didn't take the news of her creator's death too well, and they spent much of the day comforting her. Even Kallen, with her Albedo-influenced rivalry if not outright hostility towards Shalltear, comforted her once she arrived at school. Kallen's reaction to BubblingTeapot's arrival was mixed, elation and what could be jealousy mixed up, but eventually, she seemed resigned to it.

However, eventually, BubblingTeapot asked if they could meet in Nazarick that evening. Suzaku had apparently met her, but had been sworn to secrecy. So when the denizens gathered in the Throne Room, Lelouch was more than a little apprehensive. He could see Rivalz and Nina quivering with excitement and anticipation.

And then, a Gate opened up, and a figure walked through it. A very familiar figure. Not BubblingTeapot's avatar within the game, an orange slime. But rather, someone Lelouch himself knew, had known back in Pendragon, before events tore him away from that cesspit.

A slender figure, like a doll. Her beautiful, innocent-seeming features were framed by long pink hair, a pair of twin buns at her temples like Leia from _Star Wars_. Violet eyes twinkled at him in amusement, especially as he gaped in surprise.

"Oh my, Momonga, you've been naughty. Or should that be big brother Lelouch vi Britannia?"

"…BubblingTeapot…you're…"

The former voice actress smiled. "Yes, of course. I'm now Euphemia li Britannia…"

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Holy shit! So, not only is another member of Ainz Ooal Gown in the** ** _Code Geass_** **-verse, but it's BubblingTeapot as Euphie! This ought to shake things up. And I noticed how a lot of you guessed who it was, at least the** ** _Code Geass_** **character part of it.**

 **Now, I had it in my mind for some time that Euphie would be eventually revealed to be a reincarnation. I did need to cover for why she didn't reveal herself sooner, as well as justification for her to be in** ** _Yggdrasil_** **, but not near Momonga before everything went south. I'm sorry, fans of Peroroncino, for killing him off.**

 **Now, choosing BubblingTeapot was a bit of a no-brainer. If I was going to integrate one of the so-called 'Supreme Beings', then it'd be one of four: BubblingTeapot/Bukubukuchagama, Peroroncino, HeroHero, and Touch Me. Ulbert, the only other one of the members really characterised as much in the books, doesn't interest me, and the others don't have quite as much characterisation. Given that BubblingTeapot is one of the few female members named for the series, I decided to use her for Euphie. I won't rule out another Player reincarnating as a character down the track, but for now, as I have no actual plans, it's Euphie only.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Blake Tourdner** **: No, Table-kun isn't getting a workout this time, and certainly not by a Dark Elf. This version of Nina, while still timid as hell, is a lot more mentally stable for one thing. For another, given the identity of Euphemia as BubblingTeapot, that ain't going anywhere. Finally, Nina only has the mismatched eyes of Mare, not the rest of her appearance…for now.**

 **Kaiya Azure** **: Indeed. Lelouch is currently working on the defensive. Momonga was still a cautious character, but he was also working in canon** ** _Overlord_** **in a world where magic existed. Here, he needs to be careful what abilities he shows off, at least up to a point. Come Saitama, he will have some of the Floor Guardians show off, albeit in disguise, just to put the fear of Ainz Ooal Gown into Cornelia.**

 **MM Browsing** **: I am not including characters from** ** _Akito the Exiled_** **. I haven't watched that. Lelouch may use his original face as Satoru Suzuki at times. He is having CC under surveillance, but CC knows that, and so carries on her conversations with Marianne in the privacy of her own head rather than talking out loud. Keep in mind, though, CC is pretty much wholly on Lelouch's side, because he is interesting, and CC actually wants to have some revenge on Charles for basically aiding and abetting Clovis in keeping her confined. Marianne and Charles are aware of what has happened to a degree, but they're not overly worried. They think that Charles' Geass would be a good trump card, not to mention that they aren't aware of just how powerful Lelouch's arsenal is. And there's other Geass users they could use: Geass powers pretty much act like a World Item by** ** _Yggdrasil_** **terms, being ridiculously OP in what they do.**

 **1\. As with BubblingTeapot, I decided to use the light novel translation for this character, also known as Pestonya S Wanko ('wanko' meaning 'puppy' in Japanese, derived from 'wan', the Japanese onomatopoeia for a dog's bark).**

 **2\. This little bit of plothole filling came about from a review by framfrit. I had honestly forgotten about the Ariadne System, despite only having recently read the seventh novel, which introduced it (AFAIK). Ariadne, for those who don't know, is a reference to the myth of the Minotaur: Ariadne gives Theseus a 'clue': namely, a ball of string to allow him to escape the Labyrinth once he slew the Minotaur. Indeed, the word clue used to mean a ball of string or** ** _clew_** **.**

 **3\. This is a reference to what Momonga did to one unfortunate player group in the prologue to Numbskulls'** ** _Overlord Abridged_** **Episode 1 (formerly Team Dai-Gurren).**

 **4\. I found out that the Japanese equivalent of 'ham' (as in a ham actor) is 'daikon', as in their horseradish.**


	9. Chapter 8: Prince, Princess, Players

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **PRINCE, PRINCESS, PLAYERS**

The reunion with Euphemia went well, for the most part. Kallen seemed to be seething with jealousy, but that became mingled with a kind of wistful sadness and even happiness as she witnessed the reunion between Euphemia and her creations in their previous lives. Kallen was happy for the former Dark Elf twins, who got to reunite with their creator. And if truth be told, Kallen was actually happy to have another Supreme Being present.

Still, eventually, Lelouch and Euphemia reconvened in the Round Table room, for a private talk. "I still don't know what is harder to believe. You were my older half-brother in this life, the NPCs have been reincarnated, or that Aura and Mare have swapped genders." She pouted. "My adorable trap and her tomboy sister…"

Lelouch all but sweatdropped. Instead, he decided to change the subject. "What name do you prefer? I mean to be addressed as?"

"Oh, I love being called Euphie, so you can still call me that. What do you prefer, Momonga or Lelouch?"

"Lelouch, but remember, Nunnally and I are meant to be incognito here, thanks to what our sperm donor did. If you must refer to our last name, then it is Lamperouge."

"Yes…I had thought he had loved Marianne, and yet, to dismiss the investigation into her death…" Euphie shook her head. "We can talk about that later. Lelouch…why did you kill Clovis?"

"…The fact that he was murdering civilians in Shinjuku wasn't enough reason?" Lelouch said quietly. "One of the resistance groups stole what they believed to be a chemical weapon bomb. According to Kallen, or Albedo, her group were going to use it to expose Clovis' crimes. After all, even Britannia has adhered to the ban on chemical and biological weapons…at least publicly. If things got out, he would have been disinherited at the very least."

"So he intended to wipe out the Japanese here to cover up that fact?" Euphie asked, horrified.

"No. Poison gas was the _cover story_ , given to the soldiers sent to clean the mess up. He was actually involved in human experimentation. That green-haired girl you saw earlier in the Throne Room? She was the main test subject. She calls herself CC. She's not a reincarnation as far as I know. Rather, she's an immortal human being in this world, capable of granting a power called Geass. But when she gave me that power, it unlocked my memories and abilities from _Yggdrasil_ , along with the memories and abilities of the NPCs who were reincarnated. In any case, Clovis, apparently, wanted to gain her immortality for himself. Since then, she has been basically hanging around being infuriatingly enigmatic and eating pizzas."

"…She's immortal? Really?"

"She claims to have fought alongside Jeanne d'Arc. Plus, I personally saw her recover from a bullet wound right between the eyes. I am working on getting documentary proof of Clovis' crimes."

"So, that wasn't that 'Orange' thing you blackmailed Kewell with?"

"No, no, that was a bluff. It worked only because I used Geass on him." Lelouch tapped his left eye, activating the power briefly, showing Euphie, before deactivating it. "My Geass power is to issue an absolute command to anyone I wish. I've done a bit of experimenting. Not on the NPCs, as they are loyal to me already, but on some of the staff and students at Ashford. I can use it once, unless I issue a backdoor command or tell them to wait for further orders. I can even order someone to commit suicide, as I discovered when I first used it on Clovis' Royal Guard, who were about to kill me."

"So, like an ultra-strong Imperius from the Harry Potter books, only a one-use thing?" Euphie mused.

"Yes. Our father has one, though I don't know what it is, and CC alluded to another who has the ability to read minds. CC also warned me that, as I use it more often, it may enter a state of it being activated permanently, called Runaway Geass. With my Geass, it would be a potential disaster."

"…I can see why. What did they say back in our world? Loose lips sink ships?"

"Yes."

Euphie leaned back, peering at Lelouch. Eventually, she said, "I'm not happy, you know. Clovis, to me, was a kind brother to me. I believe you, Lelouch, but…I had nothing but fond memories of Clovis. Vapid and vain, yes, but…"

"I know. But I wanted to save those lives at Shinjuku, not to mention finding out who murdered my mother," Lelouch said. "Under the influence of Geass, Clovis said that Cornelia and Schneizel may know. I don't believe Cornelia was a willing accomplice to my mother's murder, let alone the perpetrator, but if she knows something…"

Euphie shook her head. "And what are you going to do, kill her?"

"Cornelia was one of the few members of that family I respected. I may have to kill her, but I will avoid it where possible. Leaving aside everything else, the truth is, killing her may only ensure a stronger response. Given how much Cornelia despises graft and corruption, she'll be targeting those elements within the Britannians almost as much as the Japanese groups. But if she comes after civilians, then I will destroy her. Not necessarily kill her, but…well, remember what we did to that one guild, shortly before Touch Me stepped down from heading Ainz Ooal Gown? And then, there's persuading her to defect. That would be tricky, I would imagine. I would have to reveal that Nunnally and I are still alive and she may try to take us back to Pendragon…still, it's something to consider. However, I do not intend to abandon Ainz Ooal Gown, or the Japanese. They have done more for me than just about anyone in Britannia."

"Not to mention we were both Japanese in our old life," Euphie remarked, before a gentle sigh wafted from her lips. "It's ironic that the Japan in this world, even as it chafes at the bridle of a conqueror, is much more beautiful than what it became in our world. Blue Planet would have given an arm and a leg to see this."

"I'm sure," Lelouch said, though he winced inwardly at the reminder of the other members of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Hmm. Well, we need to stick together, I'm sure. I'll do what I can to deter Cornelia from repeating Clovis' actions. I want to see innocents killed as much as you do. Apropos of nothing…what was with Albedo? Why did she look at me like I was going to steal you away from her?"

Lelouch winced, outwardly this time. "…I was a bit miffed about nobody staying until the end, I got bored, started reading Albedo's backstory…and then I saw Tabula's little bit at the end. Saying that, in spite of being an elegant lady, she was a bitch on the outside."

"Ah, yes. Tabula always loved gap- _moe_ , unexpected contrasts," Euphie said. "So, you changed it?"

"It was only a few minutes before the servers shut down!" Lelouch protested. "I just changed that last bit to 'she is deeply in love with Momonga'. Ugh, if I knew something like this would've happened, I wouldn't have done it. I feel like I've soiled Tabula's creation, and forced her to love me."

"Well, if it was my brother who did it, I'd be whacking him over the head by now," Euphie said.

"…I _am_ your brother. Well, half-brother."

Euphie nodded, but her face became solemn. Thinking of Peroroncino, no doubt. "You know what I mean," she said quietly. Then she looked back up at him. "I'm not going to do that for a number of reasons. Firstly, you're actually sorry about what you did. Secondly, you couldn't have foreseen this happening, and let's face it, it's like something out of a bad anime, this whole thing of game players and NPCs reincarnating, and I've done voices for some pretty bad ones. Thirdly, you're not a sex maniac like my brother was, and you'd actually be considerate of her feelings. In any case, just in case, I'm going to talk to her, make sure she understands that I'm not interested in poaching you. I saw you like a brother back in _Yggdrasil_ , and while I did voice characters who were into incest for some H-Games, I'm not really into that for real. Even if you _are_ pretty good looking. Plus, it's best that I defuse the _yandere_ bomb before it goes off…"

* * *

Albedo felt ambivalent about this. On the one hand, one of the Supreme Beings had come back, which was always a cause for celebration, and Aura and Mare were happy. On the other hand, she was a rather beautiful girl, and she had been one of the ones who left Lord Momonga alone…though the fact that she did eventually come back was a point in her favour. And now they were alone, and who knew what they were doing together…

Albedo closed her eyes and calmed herself down. When she had lived as Kallen Kozuki, she had gained some perspective. She had been weak. Not just weak in the same way humans were, but weak because of her position, caught between two worlds. But her anger and determination, not to mention her skill with a Knightmare Frame, made her strong.

The truth of her existence held little problems for her, even after Lord Momonga explained it to her. It didn't matter that she had been created by the Supreme Beings, by humans, within a game as their playthings. To be created for a purpose was reason enough. She had been made with a beauty beyond compare, with strength beyond measure, and if these humans needed virtual reality to be gods, then she didn't mind. She didn't even mind being altered slightly to love Momonga, for that gave her further purpose, and indeed, love beyond the sexual experiences of Succubi.

She had to admit, she was actually sorry for Shalltear. To learn that one's creator had been murdered by a lowlife would be a shock, and for all Albedo's antagonism towards the lamprey, they were comrades and allies. Albedo had felt the same way as a human when Naoto perished. Even now, she actually missed him. She, Albedo, cared about a human! But…this was her new reality.

In any case, she was waiting impatiently for the doors to the Round Table room to open, and they finally did, Lord Momonga and Lady BubblingTeapot emerging. "Albedo?" BubblingTeapot said. "I'd like to talk to you."

Albedo bowed, and allowed BubblingTeapot to lead her away. Soon afterwards, BubblingTeapot got to the point. "I'm not going to steal him away from you, Albedo. Or would you prefer Kallen?"

"When within the halls of Nazarick, I prefer Albedo, Lady BubblingTeapot."

"Just call me Euphie. I'm so used to my name in this world, and it's shorter than my old handle," Lady… _Euphie_ said. "But anyway, there's a couple of points I need to make. One, Momonga was like a brother to me back in _Yggdrasil_ , even though I had one already."

"Yes, Lord Peroroncino. I was sorry to hear of his demise," Albedo said.

"Thank you. Two, I am, in this life at least, Momonga's half-sister. I may have voiced characters for adult games with incest pairings, but it's something I wouldn't do myself. So I am not a threat to your relationship."

Eventually, Albedo said, "If you wished to be part of it, we were open to the idea of a harem. The hierarchy would be what was at issue."

"Harem? Hierarchy?" Euphie chortled. "Oh dear. My brother must be rolling in his grave. And poor Momonga. How many?"

"Women? Aside from myself and the lamprey, I believe Solution has expressed an interest as well. Her human self has had a crush on him for some time. And there is the possibility of the CC woman joining in." Inwardly, Albedo was relieved. She was a little wary, in case Euphie was lying, but the rest of her was relaxing. Indeed, she was basking in the benevolence of one of the Supreme Beings. Ah! If only her own creator was here! And Euphie had no intention of stealing Momonga away from her! One of her greatest fears was unfounded!

"One of the Pleiades as well?" Euphie chuckled. She walked over to Albedo, and then hugged her. "There's one thing I want you to promise me, Albedo. Promise me that you'll keep him out of trouble. I know he intends to take on Britannia, and I despise what it did to us, did to our family, not to mention the suffering it caused not just the Japanese, but all the Numbers. Momonga's good at figuring out what to do…but he might get in over his head. If he does, get him out of it."

"You needn't ask, Lady Euphie," Albedo said quietly. She would do _anything_ to keep Momonga safe. "But, if I may be so bold as to question a Supreme Being…what will you do to aid us?"

"What Momonga intends to do with guerrilla warfare, I intend to do with diplomacy," Euphie said. "I am well-placed enough to begin a series of reforms within Japan. What's more, I will see if I can sway Cornelia to our cause. The problem is, the Britannian system is very deeply entrenched in their own superiority complex. Changing things from within, while not impossible by any means, will doubtless make me many enemies, and if any of our enemies have a power like Geass…"

"I see. While I am not content with hiding in shadows and acting with temerity, I understand your caution, Lady Euphie," Albedo said. "The Geass is almost like a World Item. If your father in this life possesses one, that makes him very dangerous indeed. And changing the ideology of Britannia, from without and within, is sure to be difficult. After all, killing an idea, especially one as resistant as the Britannians, is difficult." Albedo gathered herself, knowing that she was taking a risk here, before she fixed Lady Euphie with a glare. "However, know this. Should you betray Lord Momonga, I will give you to Demiurge and Neuronist to do what they wish with you, Supreme Being or not, but I will ensure they leave you alive once they are done, so that I may inflict a slow, lingering demise. Should any other Supreme Being turn up, even my own creator, the same would apply to them."

"Understood," Euphie said, a little taken aback, but not without her own fire in her eyes. "And if you betray him, then you will suffer the same fate."

"I would expect nothing less," Albedo agreed. "But I would **_never_** betray him." Then, a little grudgingly, she admitted, "I am still glad that a Supreme Being has returned to us. I fear that we may not have been enough for him, and…"

"…Albedo…Momonga was the one most committed to Ainz Ooal Gown out of all of us. He lived for it in a way none of us managed." Euphie chuckled softly. "Ah, I remember how much money he blew on an item in the in-game lottery machine. He was a bit miffed when Yamaiko got the same item with less money. So your fears are unfounded, Albedo. And I'm glad I came too. My brother was murdered back in our original world. I was starting to get sick of the H-Game roles. But here? I'm a princess, and my creations…Aura and Mare are alive. Changed, yes, but…in a way, I have children now, to be there for them. Aura and Mare are my children. Plus…well, between you and me, Cocytus' new form is pretty cute, don't you think?"

Albedo nodded readily. It was prudent to agree with a Supreme Being after all, and Cocytus' form as Suzaku was indeed cute…

* * *

"Are you ready, Nunnally?" Lelouch asked. "Should this succeed, you'll only be able to stand out of the wheelchair when out of sight, at least until we can find a plausible cover story. Of course, your legs may still be weak, but we can use physical therapy for those."

Nunnally nodded. The denizens of Nazarick were once more gathered in the Throne Room, with Euphie there as well. Lupusregina was on standby to try her healing skills, in case this didn't work. But as Lelouch activated the Shooting Star ring, he had the feeling it would.

The ring would allow him to normally cast Wish Upon a Star without the experience expenditure the spell normally incurred, though the effects were still randomised. However, something told him that he could direct the magic. He wouldn't lose any experience points, and he could wish for the right thing.

"SHOOTING STAR!" he roared. "RESTORE NUNNALLY'S ABILITY TO WALK!"

Energy flared out, and as the bright light faded, Nunnally began to wince. "Ow, ow, ow…ooh, it's all pins and needles! Ahhh!" she hissed softly. She began massaging her wasted legs, grimacing. As they watched, though, the legs, once wasted, gradually gained some more mass. They were still slender, but they at least looked capable of supporting Nunnally's weight now.

Tentatively, she got to her feet, and tottered, but did not fall. "My lord…I can WALK(1)!" she said, surprised and overjoyed.

Applause burst out, with Lelouch and Euphie going over to Nunnally, hugging her. Maybe it would be the last bit of celebration before their struggles began in earnest, but they had cause to now…

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, BubblingTeapot and Momonga have had a talk, and Albedo has had some reassurances. Keep in mind, this will be the last chapter for a while. But I hope you guys have enjoyed what was written so far. And has anyone seen the new titles for** ** _Overlord_** **Season 3? I think the titles are brilliant, and Myth & Roid's ****_Voracity_** **is easily on a par with** ** _Clattanoia_** **from the first season.**

 **I deliberately wrote part of the chapter from Albedo's point of view for a few reasons. One, the POV of this story has been mostly with Lelouch, and I felt it was about time more was done with Albedo/Kallen, who's been out of the spotlight. Two, I wanted to show both the similarities and differences between the canon Albedo and this one. Canon Albedo grows to hold a major resentment for the other Supreme Beings, going so far as to basically head up a secret hit squad to kill them if they ever showed up in the New World (she doesn't tell Momonga this, obviously, just claiming it's a group meant to track down other Supreme Beings). Here, while she still has that resentment, it's tempered by a few factors.**

 **Firstly, she has had an actual human life, so her empathy, while rather slight, exists. Secondly, BubblingTeapot made her appearance before that resentment could boil over into murderous intent (I got the impression that it took a while for it to happen in canon, as it's yet to happen in the translated books if I recall properly, though the signs are there). Thirdly, BubblingTeapot, once she has arrived, actually makes it clear she's not competition for Momonga's affections, which helps matters. This means that, in the unlikely event that I do bring in other members of Ainz Ooal Gown (and frankly, that's not going to happen unless I get a good idea), Albedo's not going to kill them. Oh, she'll be jealous and still a** ** _yandere_** **, but she won't be a problem to them.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Kaiya Azure** **: If Peroroncino was reincarnated into the world of** ** _Code Geass_** **, he'd end up as Rivalz or Tamaki. Maybe Milly. Also, I remember one fanfic (can't remember which one it was off the top of my head) where Orange is eventually equated with Code-R, at least in the minds of Gottwald's superiors.**

 **LoamyCoffee** **: Actually, Euphie will still be falling for Suzaku (who will be part of a love triangle with Shizu), and as for the Euphienator incident…well, the jury's still out on whether that happens, though if it does, I hope to make the outcome different to canon.**

 **Guest** **: I am aware of SeerKing's** ** _Overlord_** **fic, but I excluded it partly because it hasn't really gone beyond Book 1, and partly because it seems dead. And thank you for your understanding regarding my choice of words.**

 **korat5** **: Nunnally is NOT going to be trying to get into her brother's pants. But she is going to be holding a whip over any would-be harem members.**

 **aliestrikehero** **: While I don't know when I will update** ** _Yield to the Darkness_** **, unfortunately, Evileye won't be making any kind of appearance…unless it's in a sneeze cut cutaway I could cram in. Which is a shame, as Evileye is an interesting character.**

 **1\. I cribbed this line, with modifications, from the last lines of** ** _Dr Strangelove_** **. I mean, aside from the song** ** _We Will Meet Again_** **…**


	10. Chapter 9: Curbstomping Cornelia

**CHAPTER 9:**

 **CURBSTOMPING CORNELIA**

CC watched as a rather vicious grin crept over Lelouch's features as he put down the phone, after getting contacted by Gottwald. "You know it's a trap, boy."

"This is no trap. This, my dear CC, is an invitation, gilt-edged."

CC snorted. In a perverse way, the reincarnated MMORPG player was correct. Cornelia was inviting him to try and stop her the same way he did Clovis. "An invitation to your being captured by Cornelia," she snarked.

Lelouch merely smirked even more widely. "Perhaps. But I won't give her the satisfaction. Thanks to Gottwald and Nu, I know she intends to re-enact the Shinjuku Massacre later today in Saitama. And that means murdering the civilians. I will not countenance that. While it is no skin off my nose if the Yamato Alliance dies off, given what Kallen has told me about them, the inhabitants of Saitama are another matter. Which is why I intend to send a communication to her. And Cornelia, under the right circumstances, is easily goaded. I can divert her away from Saitama, as well as hand her a humiliating defeat."

"Humiliating?" Lelouch had a plan, it seemed.

"Tell me…what is the advantage of Britannia in warfare? Its best weapon is the Knightmare Frame. But what if someone not even in one was able to defeat and destroy one? Especially a Gloucester?" Lelouch's smirk was a thing of nightmares. "Demiurge, at my request, has been doing experiments with Knightmare weaponry, using them on Cecile and Suzaku. They volunteered, before you ask. Cecile, being Yuri Alpha of the Pleiades, is only mildly injured by such weapons. And in _Yggdrasil_ , she was a Level 51 character. Suzaku was wholly uninjured. Which means that even the Pleiades can withstand attacks from a Knightmare's weapons, or at least those of the generation before the Lancelot. Oh, they will be _injured_ , but most people would die. And that's if they stand still long enough to be attacked. Knightmares are not exactly designed to fight human targets. Or at least human-sized ones."

"I get your plan. You intend to take some of the NPCs and bait Cornelia into fighting them in lieu of her massacre," CC said.

"Of course. Of the Pleiades, I can only take Narberal, that is, Sayoko, but she would be enough. Shirley, or rather, Solution is better suited as an assassin, I am uneasy about bringing Nunnally into combat, especially so soon after her legs were healed, and the other Pleiades will be missed. Of the Floor Guardians, I intend to take Kallen, Rivalz, Nina and Milly, which is to say Albedo, Aura, Mare and Shalltear respectively. I will have Kallen and Milly disguise themselves with armour. Aura and Mare can change between their Dark Elf forms, but I will also give them dark glasses or goggles. Their mismatched eyes have appeared on their human forms, and I don't want anyone to identify them."

"And what if Cornelia doesn't take your own invitation?" CC asked.

"Oh, in all likelihood, she will. One thing we both share is our pride. As long as I let her dictate the battlefield, allowing her to believe she has an advantage, I believe she will. I also intend to make this a mostly physical combat battle. Any magic we use, I intend to pass off as experimental weapons, as long as I can make it plausible. The Britannians, and indeed the other vultures in China and Europe, would become too interested, otherwise. Not to mention that too much overwhelming power may lead to an escalation that we can't afford. No, this is meant to humble Cornelia, as well as wreck millions of pounds of materiel. I will have to wait for a better opportunity to interrogate her about any role she had in my mother's death."

CC nodded. She actually knew pretty much what had happened. Marianne herself told her. CC knew she was being scrutinised by Nazarick's NPCs, perhaps even spied upon, so any conversations she had with Lelouch's mother were kept silent. Eventually, she decided to break the connection she had with Marianne shortly after Lelouch learned of BubblingTeapot, aka Euphemia, being in this world. It would send a message to Charles, given Charles' complicity in keeping CC locked up and experimented on by Clovis' people. It was also a message to VV and Marianne.

Namely, _You done goofed_.

It didn't mean that it was safe to tell Lelouch about the conspiracy around Charles and VV, though. Charles doubtless had ears in other places, and Lelouch may take action in a way that might endanger him, and CC didn't want him dead. Though she would tell him about Charles' Geass, and how it had probably been used to seal off Nunnally's eyesight.

CC frowned. Lelouch had discussed things with the denizens of Nazarick. All of them were long-lived beings, if not immortal, and they were wondering whether the same applied to their human forms. If that was true…then CC may not have to go to the trouble of cultivating Lelouch until he could take her Code. In fact, if he and his comrades were…amenable, she might actually grow to like them enough to eschew that, and merely spend as long as she could with them.

And if it meant helping them take over the world? Well, maybe it would be fun, especially against the likes of Britannia. CC had loosened morals thanks to her immortality, and if Lelouch said he was going to avoid targeting innocents where possible…well, it was childish to think he'd avoid them completely, but he at least intended to. Plus, there was some part of CC, the part that was still a little French girl called Cera, that loved fireworks…

* * *

Lelouch smirked as he set up the transmission, dressed in his costume as Zero. Thanks to Jeremiah, he now had a direct line to Cornelia. He was currently seated on the throne in Nazarick as the camera and screen, kept in the air by magic, faced him. Kallen and Milly, in their full armour as Albedo and Shalltear, flanked him. And then, the harsh but beautiful face of Cornelia appeared on screen. " _Who is this?! I…_ _ **Zero**_ _._ "

" _My, my, Cornelia. You should consider some therapy. Frown too much, and you'll age your face. As for any self-righteous rant you have pent up about avenging your half-brother,_ _ **save it**_ _. He murdered innocent people in Shinjuku, Japanese and Britannians alike. He was a rabid dog I had to put down. If it weren't for my catching wind of your plans in Saitama and arranging this little chinwag, I would ensure that you followed him to Hell for targeting the citizens there. All you had to do was ask, and I would come. I mean, I presume that's why you were going to target Saitama, to lure me out of hiding, hmm? So, I have an offer for you._ "

" _I do not negotiate with terrorists._ "

" _Oh? Well, you misunderstand me. This is not a negotiation, but an_ _ **ultimatum**_ _. I will willingly come to a battlefield of your choosing in the vicinity of Saitama, providing it is well away from the civilian populace. There, my chosen champions will fight your army…and just to sweeten the deal, they will not be riding Knightmare Frames. You can even sweep the battlefield beforehand to ensure that I have not trapped it. Should you refuse, I will come to you and do unto you what I did to Clovis, and there would not be a damned thing that you nor your Knights would be able to do about it. Not Darlton, not Guilford, and not yourself. Ainz Ooal Gown champions those who cannot protect themselves, regardless of whether they are Britannian or not. It is one thing to kill a military opponent, but another entirely to bring in innocent civilians just to achieve your goal. Your choice, Cornelia. Or are you devoid of honour?_ _ **Then, Cornelia li Britannia, Second Princess of the Britannian Empire, I am calling you out as a base coward.**_ "

Cornelia gritted her teeth, before she muted the sound. She began talking to her advisors, the scarred Darlton and the bespectacled Guilford. Eventually, the three of them seemed to come to an agreement. Cornelia reactivated the sound. " _Then we will meet you on the fields of battle, Zero, though you are ill-suited to speak of cowardice and honour._ " She then rattled off a location to the east of the city. One of many relatively level fields on the Kanto Plain.

Lelouch smiled behind his mask. " _Thank you. Personally, it's no skin off my nose if you targeted the Yamato Alliance branch there. It's the civilians I worry about. Still…be seeing you._ " And with that, he shut off the feed. " _Kallen, Milly, Rivalz, Nina, and Sayoko…prepare to move out. It is time for Britannia to witness how truly outmatched they are by Ainz Ooal Gown_ …"

* * *

They waited until Cornelia had arrived at the location, a mobile command base, with many Knightmares (Sutherlands and Gloucesters) present, along with VTOLs, soldiers, and tanks. Lelouch noted that Cornelia had chosen the location rather interestingly. The terrain was flat with little place to hide, and while it didn't give her a tactical advantage per se, there were few places to hide troops or traps. Cornelia, if he recalled what he had read about her campaigns correctly, was more of a specialist in open warfare, not urban warfare. It didn't mean she was incompetent in the latter by any means, only that she was more at ease in wild terrain. She had been fighting in the Middle East shortly before coming to Britannia.

Lelouch then used a Gate to appear in front of them. He wanted to avoid using magic where possible to try and confuse the enemy. That being said, he had everyone use as many buffs as possible, especially on Sayoko, who, as Narberal, was the weakest of those present.

He was glad he had installed a form of loudspeaker spell shortly before he rescued Suzaku. He activated it, and called out, " _WE ARE HERE, CORNELIA LI BRITANNIA!_ "

One of the Knightmares activated its loudspeaker system. The voice was clearly not Cornelia's. " _HA! YOU MUST BE SUICIDALLY OVERCONFIDENT TO CONFRONT US WITH ONLY FIVE PEOPLE INCLUDING YOURSELF! YOU'VE GOT GUTS, I'LL GIVE YOU THAT, BUT I'D SUGGEST SURRENDERING._ "

" _NO. BUT_ _ **I**_ _SUGGEST WHIMPERING IN A CORNER, PISSING YOURSELF, AND PRAYING TO YOUR IMPOTENT GOD, THOUGH I DOUBT HE OR SHE WOULD BE LISTENING_ ," Lelouch retorted(1). " _I WILL KEEP THE DEATHS HERE TO A MINIMUM, CORNELIA. HOWEVER, YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE A LOT OF MATERIEL FOR ATTEMPTING TO TAKE THE LIVES OF THE PEOPLE OF SAITAMA._ "

Cornelia's Knightmare was moving forward, and then pointed its distinctive lance at Lelouch. " _YOU MUST BE INSANE TO THINK I WOULD BELIEVE A BLUFF LIKE THAT._ "

Lelouch smirked. He gave a hand signal to a disguised Sayoko, who held out a hand, pointing it at a leg of the nearest Knightmare. " _Lightning_ ," she hissed. A blast of electricity smashed through the leg, blasting it off and causing the Knightmare to topple.

" _MY SANITY MAY BE AN UNDERSTANDABLE SUBJECT OF CONJECTURE,_ " Lelouch said, before his smirk widened beneath his mask. " _BUT I'M_ _ **NOT**_ _BLUFFING._ "

The plan was simple. Cripple as many Knightmares as possible. Mare would support them by casting spells that would affect the terrain. The point wasn't to kill Cornelia's personnel, but to deliver to them a humiliating defeat.

The sextet scattered. Their speed was inhuman, even Lelouch's. The benefit of the Zero costume was that it allowed him to equip swords, given the customisation added to it, so he summoned a sword, and slashed right through the knee of one of the Knightmare Frames. He watched as Kallen, in full Albedo armour, cleaved away the arms and limbs of a Gloucester, while Milly, using Shalltear's Pipette Lance, stabbed through the Factsphere of another. Rivalz was using Aura's whip to slash away at the Knightmares. Sayoko was driving Narberal's staff through the bodies of the Knightmares and electrocuting them.

And none of the ordinance fired upon them did much. Machine gun fire didn't so much as tickle Lelouch, and Slash Harkens merely bounced off. He felt like laughing. Instead, he turned on Aura of Despair I. " _KNOW THE FEAR YOUR VICTIMS HAVE KNOWN, CORNELIA LI BRITANNIA. KNOW THE DESPAIR THEY FELT. IF YOU ARE THE GODDESS OF VICTORY, THEN I AM THE DEVIL. YOU CLAIM TO DO THIS BECAUSE OF REVENGE FOR YOUR SIBLINGS? THEN YOU ARE AN IMBECILE! CLOVIS WAS A POWER-HUNGRY MAD DOG, OBSESSED WITH HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION! AND IF LELOUCH AND NUNNALLY COULD SEE YOU NOW, THEY WOULD HANG THEIR HEADS WITH SHAME. DO YOU THINK THEY WOULD WANT YOU TO AVENGE THEM BY TAKING IT OUT ON THE JAPANESE?!_ "

" _SILENCE!_ " Cornelia roared, her composure shaken not just by the lack of an easy victory and Lelouch's taunting, but also the Aura of Despair. She lunged, jabbing her lance down at him, only for him to catch it.

" _Are you compensating for something with that spear?_ " Lelouch asked more casually. " _I ask merely for information._ " He then bent the tip with a screech of twisting metal.

She yanked it away hurriedly. "… _What are you?_ " she asked. " _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!_ "

" _A nightmare you will never be waking from, Cornelia li Britannia. You will not die this day. Instead, you will live, live knowing that I have defeated you, and that I have been holding back, that I could kill you just as easily as you stepping on an ant. That being said…the price of survival this day is information. I have an interest in the affairs of your family. And I interrogated Clovis about one thing in particular. The day Lady Marianne was murdered. A lot of families had their downfall then, including the Ashfords and my own, not to mention your half-brother and half-sister. And yet, Clovis told me you withdrew the security around her before she died. Why? Did the assassins pay you off? Or did someone order that?_ "

He could all but hear her grit her teeth, before she snarled over the speakers, " _Lady Marianne was the one who ordered the guard detail to be taken away. If I had my way, I would not have stopped until I had brought her murderers to justice…but the Emperor ordered the investigation halted. And when Lelouch protested, the Emperor sent him and Nunnally to this backwater country to be murdered by the Elevens._ "

"… _So…he must've been covering for someone powerful_ ," Lelouch mused out loud. He realised that Cornelia detested the fact that she was unable to investigate Marianne's murder, not to mention his supposed death, and that of Nunnally. Then, he added, " _You fail to remember, Cornelia, Charles zi Britannia deliberately sent Lelouch and Nunnally to perish, as political pawns to justify the invasion. They were made as martyrs, despite the fact that he clearly did not love them, any more than he loves you or Euphemia. If they were still alive and he found out, he'd promptly use them as his pawns once more. In fact, my sources say that it was an attack by covert Britannian forces led to the declaration of their deaths, not Japanese. Not that the Japanese wouldn't have if they felt like it. You think them inferior. Tell me, Cornelia…how do you feel in comparison to me?_ "

" _Bastard_ …" Cornelia said, but it was clear that she had realised she couldn't win.

" _It doesn't feel good, does it?_ " Lelouch asked. " _Be thankful I spared the lives of your men. Had you been so foolish as to refuse my invitation and to murder the inhabitants of Saitama, I would have held you down as you watched me slaughter them, as the toll for your imprudence._ " He sent a Message to his allies that they were leaving. As he opened a Gate behind him, " _I've enjoyed this dance, Cornelia li Britannia. Do not target innocents, though, or I will ensure that our next dance is the_ Danse Macabre."

And with that, he ducked through the Gate, hearing Cornelia scream after him in fury. He knew he had won this battle. The war, though, was another matter entirely…

 **CHAPTER 9 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Wow. How's that for a curbstomp?**

 **And if you're wondering whether I made Cornelia too OOC here, keep in mind, she's shaken by the fact that Lelouch and his allies have used superhuman abilities. That, plus the Aura of Despair shook her up. Keep in mind that the Aura of Despair I skill was capable of shaking Hamsuke up and forcing him/her to capitulate. Cornelia may be stronger-willed than Hamsuke, but she was still affected by it, with it affecting her rationality.**

 **I originally had Lelouch actually get onto Cornelia's Gloucester and tear the cockpit open and interrogate her while grabbing her by the throat, but I thought that was a touch too far. I'm not sure whether Momonga actually has the physical strength to do that for one, and for another, it seemed rather too vicious of Lelouch to do that to Cornelia, even if she's pissed him off.**

 **Review-answering time!** **MM Browsing** **: Shalltear-Milly and Albedo-Kallen, along with CC, are already definitely part of the harem. I'm considering throwing Solution-Shirley into the mix as well. Also, Lelouch doesn't need actual physical training, given his stats as Momonga. Rather, he will eventually train his skills where possible.**

 **Accelerator Chan** **: Rubedo will be alluded to. However, I have no idea of what she's truly like, aside from being the strongest NPC in Nazarick, so I can't really characterise her. Nigredo may make an appearance, as she appeared in Book 3…**

 **The Wandering Soul of 1014** **: While you have an interesting point, that's not going to happen.**

 **Ultimate-Zelda-fan** **: It was too obvious.**

 **JFC** **: If you're referring to Gargantua and Perfect Victim, let me point out that I referred to Victim in a previous chapter. I actually considered Victim reincarnating as Euphie, but decided against it. And Gargantua is a mindless golem. So I didn't reincarnate them. Also…an army of a hundred tiny Euphies, you say? *cackles evilly***

 **1\. This is a hybrid of both Jan Valentine's taunts to the Round Table in** ** _Hellsing_** **, as well as Cell's remark when announcing the Cell Games in** ** _Dragonball Z Abridged_** **.**


	11. Chapter 10: Pity the Hostage Takers

**CHAPTER 10:**

 **PITY THE HOSTAGE TAKERS**

It was not long afterwards. Cornelia's defeat at the hands of Zero and Ainz Ooal Gown was covered up. The most that occurred on the news was announcement of several million pounds of military equipment being destroyed during a training exercise accident. Through Jeremiah, Lelouch found out that, on the official report to the Emperor, Zero had managed to sabotage a number of Knightmares. It seemed that Cornelia was more shaken than he had thought. Then again, being the Goddess of Victory wouldn't help.

Still, he decided, on a whim, to go to the hotel on Lake Kawaguchi with the Student Council members. Well, sans Rivalz, who was staying behind to keep his bartending job. Nunnally and Sayoko would be staying behind, and CC was currently working with Ohgi's cell to induct them into Ainz Ooal Gown, as well as test out the mobile HQ they were using for the human members.

As it happened, there was a Sakuradite Trade Conference happening at the hotel too. And while they were on the train, Lelouch got a Message from Euphie. _So, you're on your way there too?_ he asked when she revealed they were on the same train.

 _Yes. I'm going incognito to this conference to make connections. I didn't realise that you were accompanying me, Lulu_. Euphie's voice became pensive. _That being said…Cornelia's been hearing some alarming chapter on the grapevine. Apparently the JLF are planning something big._

 _For the first time in ages_ , Lelouch scoffed. _Lately, all they've been doing is fleabitings and propaganda. How is she?_

 _Shaken. Rather cruel of you to use Aura of Despair on her, even at its lowest level._

 _It was rather cruel of her to target the people of Saitama. She is lucky I didn't use Grasp Heart on her. Still, the information I got was interesting._

 _Yes, you told me. So, Marianne clearly trusted her killer. Do you think our sperm donor is involved?_

 _Directly? I'm not sure. But I know he is covering for someone. The suspects are legion, and even if we narrow it down to people she would normally trust enough to lessen security around her…and the fact remains that someone used a Geass on Nunnally to make her seem like she wasn't a reliable witness, what with getting inflicted with psychosomatic blindness. And that's without going into this conspiracy CC hints at, and this VV person. The two are related, I'm sure of it. And with Geass being basically World Items, we still need to be cautious._

 _And beating Cornelia was cautious?_

 _Perhaps not, but the innocents of Saitama were at stake. Innocents will inevitably get caught in the crossfire of our mission, true, but if we do manage to take over Britannia, if not this world, then I want to look back on the path I walked with as few regrets as possible. Remember what Touch Me used to say: "_ _ **Helping someone in trouble is the right thing to do.**_ _" Don't get me wrong, we're going to do some dark things, I'm sure, but Touch Me will be an example to us, and the NPCs of Ainz Ooal Gown. Not Ulbert, with his obsession on evil, or Tabula, with his fixation on gap_ -moe. _Ainz Ooal Gown lost sight of itself, I think, after Touch Me left. I owe it to him to use the powers we have to help others_.

A chuckle down the line. _I thought you were more resentful towards those who left._

 _I was…but Touch Me, I knew, had his reasons. You all did, but…I never liked how the drama fractured us. And in the end, having lived through another life filled with injustice put things into perspective. Back when I was Satoru Suzuki, I was a lowly salaryman. In this life, I was a prince, even if I was exiled. I think going through another childhood, even if it was relatively privileged, helped me mature, both myself as Satoru Suzuki, and myself as Lelouch. Makes my grievances about you leaving rather petty by comparison._

 _A man is the sum of his memories_ , Euphie remarked. _An overlord even more so(_ _1)_ _. Anyway, let's try to forget about the dark stuff for now. We're here to enjoy ourselves_ …

* * *

Unfortunately, things were not so simple. As later that evening, the hotel was taken hostage by members of the JLF.

The moment the JLF soldiers burst in, Lelouch sent a general Message to everyone nearby. _Everyone, play along for now. I want to determine who is in charge and how many soldiers are here before we start killing them. And I want to minimise the usage of Geass or memory-altering magic on the other hostages_. After receiving acknowledgements from the former NPCs and Euphie, Lelouch then sent Messages to Jeremiah, Villetta, Suzaku, Lloyd, and Cecile. He'd also managed to find a way to send CC Messages, so he told her of the situation.

As they waited, they were visited by the bulky form of the rather unpleasant Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe, who claimed to be doing this for the JLF. Kusakabe was a name often heard in connection with the JLF, but according to Kallen and Jeremiah, he was also something of a loose cannon, often frustrating his leaders with his impulsive ways and his desire to pull off audacious operations, unlike Tohdoh and Katase, who were more cautious.

 _Well, what do you think?_ Lelouch asked his half-sister.

 _Splinter group of the JLF, inspired by you_ , Euphie remarked. _Confident enough to think they can get away with this, and willing to kill. These are rogue soldiers. And Kusakabe looks like the sort to start killing hostages. The way he referred to Britannians, he doesn't give a damn about conventions of war. As a last resort, he may even blow up the hotel and take us with it. The problem is, with me here, Cornelia won't take action._

 _Which gives us time to deal with this_ , Lelouch said. _All right. I'll begin targeting the other hostages with a sleep spell. When the time comes, I'll get Nina to begin kicking up a fuss…and when they try to attack her…well, Mare's strength stats are pretty impressive for a magic user._

 _Oh, you are_ _ **evil**_ _, Lelouch_. But he could hear the smirk on the other end.

Carefully, Lelouch cast a sleep spell on the hostages, a weak one to allow his comrades to stay awake. Not the JLF, though. He had something special for them, as he explained to the NPCs and Euphie. And anti-eavesdropping magic too.

"Hey, what's with the hostages? Why are so many of them falling asleep?" one of the JLF guards demanded.

As he drew close, Nina, on cue, whimpered, "Eleven…"

"What was that?!" the JLF soldier snarled, snatching her up. "What did you say, you miserable little bitch?!"

Nina, however, looked at him with eyes that no longer had any fear, or rather, any true fear. Rather, they were flat and cold. Then, she suddenly materialised her staff and smashed the man in the face…causing his head to burst like a rotten fruit. As the other JLF guard in the room aimed his gun at them, Lelouch merely growled two words.

" _Grasp Heart._ "

The man spasmed, blood vomiting from his mouth as Lelouch crushed the man's heart in both spectral effigy and reality. Then, the soldier collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut. Lelouch and the others got to their feet. Euphie immediately went over to Nina and hugged her, causing the former Dark Elf to blush. "Well done, Nina!"

"Th-th-thank you, Lady Euphie," Nina stammered.

Lelouch looked at them all. "Right. For now, we're going to hole up in here. We could make our escape, but that would be hard to explain away, how we overcame the JLF soldiers. I'm going to call in CC and your resistance group, Kallen. CC will masquerade as Zero, intending to come in to negotiate. Once they have come in, or are close enough, then we will start to act."

"Why is that, Lelouch?" Euphie asked.

"I will have CC pose as me when she announces Ainz Ooal Gown publicly to the world," Lelouch explained. "Meanwhile, we, as the hostages, will be left adrift, for the authorities to pick up. Of course, it's a bit risky, given that Cornelia may recognise me, but…I think I can work with that. Cornelia's sensible. She may despise politics, but she's aware of the reality of politics. She knows that dragging me back to Pendragon would be problematic."

Euphie nodded. "Do you think this could be an initial step to recruiting her into Ainz Ooal Gown?"

"Maybe. But we will have to cultivate her. We'll have to send her the data on Code-R. We need to erode her loyalty to the Emperor. Then, once we are ready, we bring her into the fold."

"Given her devotion to strength and her contempt for anything she perceives as weak," Kallen pointed out, "we'd have to break her in order for her to be of any use."

"We've already started. At Saitama, we showed that she was far from the biggest fish in the pond, by tearing apart all those Knightmares," Lelouch said. "If we're lucky, we can have her come to our side before she breaks. If not…then we may have to kill her. But Euphie and I will make the decision to kill her. Am I understood?"

The acknowledgements he got were all he needed to hear. So he decided to contact CC…

* * *

Night fell, and then, Lelouch, who had used a Remote Viewing Mirror sent to him from Nazarick, frowned. Coming down the corridor towards the storeroom were some JLF members. "… _So, who do we throw off the roof first?_ "

" _Eh, one of the men. We'll use one of the kids next if Cornelia's still being recalcitrant. And those idiots won't get through the service tunnel, not with that railgun we have down there._ "

Lelouch frowned. He'd heard about that, thanks to Jeremiah and the Lancelot team. The JLF had a specially modified Knightmare that fired a sort of rail shotgun that was devastating towards the Knightmares sent down the service tunnel. Still, it seemed that the hostage situation had taken a turn for the worse, and CC was still on her way. Dismissing the mirror to his inventory, he wondered what he should do briefly, before smirking. "Hey, Euphie?" When he got her attention, he said, " _Za Warudo._ "

Euphie got his meaning, and chortled as he fished around in the storage boxes, and fished out some knives. " _Za Warudo_ …but we don't have any steamrollers, Lulu."

"A pity, that." Lelouch then turned to face the door.

As it slid open, the JLF soldiers stared at what lay within. "What the…?"

" _ZA WARUDO!_ "

For everyone around Lelouch, time froze. Not quite with the brief flare from positive to negative and the sound somewhere between eldritch flatulence and a clock grinding to a halt he knew from the anime of _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure_ , but it was enough time for him to fling knives at the JLF soldiers, including the guards. To himself, he remarked, "Activating shitstorm in 3, 2, 1…(2)"

When time unfroze, the JLF were very briefly surprised to find knives suddenly embedding themselves in their skulls. _Briefly_ being the operative term. Lelouch hoped beyond hope that he wouldn't encounter a Geass user with a similar ability. It wasn't any fun being on the receiving end of that…

* * *

Elsewhere, in Britannia, a teenaged boy by the name of Rolo sneezed…

* * *

Lelouch summoned the clothing of Zero onto his body, though he kept the mask off for now. "CC just contacted me," he said, as the bodies were sent to Nazarick for Demiurge and his minions to play around with. "She's just passed the blockade. That means soon, I can conveniently turn up with a certain princess in tow, as an excuse to see Kusakabe…before dealing with him. Everyone, with me, but as your NPC guises. Not full battle gear, but enough to show. Save for Euphie."

Euphie smiled. "That's all right. I much prefer this body anyway."

Soon, Kallen, Milly, Shirley, and Nina were in their forms as Albedo, Shalltear, Solution and Mare. Lelouch put on his mask. " _Time to go to work_ …"

* * *

"Zero! And…who are these…people?" Kusakabe asked, frowning when he saw Albedo and the others following behind them.

Zero nodded, even as he discreetly cast anti-surveillance magic. " _Ah, I should introduce them to you. These are some of my trusted lieutenants, Albedo, Shalltear Bloodfallen, Solution Epsilon of the Pleiades Battle Maids, and Mare Bello Fiore._ "

"…They look like cosplayers, not resistance fighters," Kusakabe remarked snidely. "Are you mocking us?"

Kallen, in full Albedo mode, scoffed. "You mock Lord Zero with your insolence, Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe. Not only are you insolent, but you are incompetent too, for you missed the very reason Cornelia hasn't razed this hotel to the ground."

"After all," Milly, as Shalltear, remarked as she buffed her nails with a file casually, "Cornelia li Britannia has a bad habit of killing the hostages with the hostage-takers, something you would notice if you studied your enemy like a good commander would. So, why hasn't she done this already?"

" _The answer stands before you, gentlemen_ ," Lelouch said, as Kusakabe and his men looked fit to start shooting. " _I have brought Euphemia li Britannia into your presence._ "

Kusakabe's eyes lit up with greed. "…I see. So, you have been a help to us after all, Zero."

" _No, no, no…you misunderstand me, Kusakabe. You really have a lot of balls, involving civilians in this. I may oppose Britannia, but I will fight them on equal terms. What you wanted was bloodshed and glory. You make Cornelia look like a paragon of virtue. You make me sick._ "

"Enough! Take her to the roof. Let's see how Cornelia likes having her sister on display as we carve pieces off her…or maybe we could have her watch as we have her raped. I'm sure there's one of us who'd want to have a go with a princess."

The moment one of the JLF members reached for Euphie, her hand snapped out, grabbed him by the throat, and snapped his neck. "Zero…be a darling and clean up the trash."

" _As you wish, my dear lady. Now, Kusakabe…you wanted a massacre…_ _ **you'll get one**_ _._ "

It was instant pandemonium. Milly flung her file through the skull of one man, before she lunged at another, her mouth distending into a lamprey-like orifice, ringed with syringe-like teeth. "MAAAAIIIN DIIIISH!" she screeched, before latching onto the soldier, drinking his blood. Shirley rushed forward and embraced another man, who was slowly absorbed into her body with screams of agony, while Kallen, summoning her halberd, Ginnunangap, to split another in twain.

Kusakabe backed away, looking at them in horror. "Wh-wh-what are you? Why are you doing this? They're only Britannians!"

" _Exactly. In the same way that Britannians call Japanese 'only Elevens' or 'only Numbers'. Ainz Ooal Gown are Knights of Justice…and there was nothing just about what you did._ " Lelouch opened up his visor over his Geass. " _Now, fall on your sword and_ _ **die**_ _, and make sure it is slow and painful_ ," he commanded via Geass.

Kusakabe took his katana, a deranged, gleeful look on his face, and stabbed it roughly into his belly, before dragging it across, causing his intestines to spill out in great pink and grey ropes. His deranged grin became a rictus of pain, and it took him a long time to die. Milly's nose wrinkled. "Now you can smell his shit everywhere. Zero, did you have to do that?"

" _Yes. He would have revelled in the pain and suffering of those who didn't deserve such fates. I hope the rest of the JLF are not like him, otherwise, I will ensure that they follow in his footsteps to hell. Now, come, we have work to do_ …"

* * *

As a statement, Lelouch, after having CC (posing as Zero) take the hostages out, cast Fallen Down on the hotel, annihilating it. Then, he revived the hostages as their boats drifted away from the wreckage, having dispelled his costume earlier, and the others having reverted to their other forms. He watched as CC played along to their script.

" _People across the world! This will serve as a clarion cry to rally with us, or a klaxon of warning to fear us!_ " CC, using a voice changer, proclaimed. Lelouch smirked, knowing she must have a secret love of hamming it up. " _We are Ainz Ooal Gown, sentinels protecting the weak against the strong, the powerless against those who abuse power! Whether they be Britannians, Japanese, Chinese, European, it makes no difference! The JLF splinter group here tonight intended to murder innocents, just as Clovis did, and they have paid the wages of sin. Only those who are prepared to die should be able to kill in their turn! And when injustice rears its ugly head once more, then Ainz Ooal Gown will appear once more! Those with power should tremble, and those without it may join us under our banner! We are the judges of this world!_ "

CC then sent a Message. _So…how did I do?_

 _Too much ham_ , Lelouch said, deadpan. He would have hammed it up as much himself. He looked over at the distant form of Cornelia, perched on her Gloucester. _I'm about to take a risk, though. But if we're lucky…I think it will pay dividends_ …

 **CHAPTER 10 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Oh, so Lelouch and Cornelia are about to have a family reunion. And maybe it might work to their advantage…**

 **Review-answering time!** **Leicontis** **: You'll be pleased to know, if you don't already, that the video of** ** _Overlord Abridged_** **is back to normal. For now, anyway.**

 **rubius** **: BubblingTeapot, as mentioned before, is her name in the light novel translation.**

 **1\. Euphie is paraphrasing the Fifth Doctor's lines from** ** _Doctor Who: The Five Doctors_** **, though he says 'Time Lord' rather than 'overlord'.**

 **2\. A reference to what Dio says in Antfish's** ** _JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Abridged_** **Episode 9.**


	12. Chapter 11: Reunion

**CHAPTER 11:**

 **REUNION**

To her credit, Cornelia waited until the various victims of the hostage crisis were debriefed. Lelouch stuck to the cover story that they had considered, that Zero had saved them. And then, sometime afterwards, Cornelia entered, looking particularly frazzled. In a way, Lelouch thought that actually made her look a bit more attractive: Cornelia was naturally beautiful, but while she couldn't be called vain, she did spend quite a bit of time on her appearance, partly to portray the whole 'Goddess of Victory' thing. Britannia, after all, was frequently about appearances. Whereas looking ever so slightly dishevelled actually made her seem more human.

Lelouch, of course, couldn't resist making a cheeky remark. "So…has Guilford proposed yet?"

Cornelia stopped and stared at him. It was a fairly open secret that Guilford, one of Cornelia's personal Knights, had a thing for her, and that Cornelia wanted to reciprocate, but sadly, duty and the strictures of Britannian society made that unlikely, especially with Charles on the throne. True, Charles had married Marianne, but that was the exception rather than the rule. Then, a tired smile crossed Cornelia's lips, and she strode over and hugged him. "Lelouch…" she murmured. She kept embracing him for a time, before breaking it off and peering at him. "Is Nunnally well?"

"Yes, and able to see again," Lelouch said. He didn't know how he'd explain Nunnally's ability to walk, so she was still pretending to be confined to a wheelchair. "Cornelia…you need to keep this secret from the Emperor."

Cornelia nodded. "I figured that out after I saw you. He sent you here as pawns, hostages…he may do so again. It's hard enough trying to keep Euphie out of that mess." She peered at him. "You must hate us, Lelouch."

"…I don't hate you and Euphie, Cornelia. I hate what my father has shaped you into, but…I don't hate you. You two are the only siblings aside from Nunnally that I loved." Lelouch shook his head. "That being said, I had thought Clovis better than what he did. I thought him merely vain, vapid and apathetic to the suffering of the Japanese, not someone who was as cruel as he turned out to be. I nearly got caught up in what he did to Shinjuku. I barely escaped thanks to Suzaku Kururugi helping me out."

"…The Prime Minister's son?" Cornelia asked. "I see. Perhaps I should thank him. But…do you know why Clovis did it?"

"Yes. I accidentally fell into the truck the insurgents were using to transport what they thought was gas. They weren't going to use it, from what I overheard of their chatter, just expose Clovis for breaching chemical weapons treaties, but…the capsule had a girl inside, who claimed she was subject to experimentation. Clovis murdered hundreds of innocent Japanese civilians, all for that girl. And incidentally, I prefer to call them Japanese, not Elevens or Numbers. Before the Emperor invaded, they treated Nunnally and I far better than he ever did."

Cornelia considered this, before nodding. "But what happened during the invasion? I heard that the Elevens executed you."

"…No. A few intended to, though Tohdoh believed me when I said I had no foreknowledge of the invasion. But we were attacked shortly before the invasion began in earnest…by Britannian troops. Someone wanted us dead, to act as martyrs, as a _casus belli_. Justification for the invasion. Even if the Emperor didn't send them, someone did…and I think it may have been the same people behind my mother's murder." While it was a guess, while discussing this story with CC, she had hinted that this was the truth.

Cornelia pursed her lips, as she began contemplating this information. "Damnation." She turned her gaze back to Lelouch. "Lelouch, listen to me very carefully. Be very careful around those you consider your friends. I think one of them may be Zero. When he and I fought not so long ago, he demanded information from me, about your mother. I think he, or even she, may have been one of the nobles affected by Lady Marianne's murder. I withdrew my security personnel on Lady Marianne's orders, which indicates that her killer was someone she trusted personally. If they found out that you were still alive, they could target you and Nunnally. And you had a close call with the JLF. If they learned who you were and exposed it to the world…and I've got a sneaking suspicion Zero may know who you are. Be careful, just in case that masked malcontent decides to use you and Nunnally against Euphie and I."

Lelouch was never so glad that he had a good poker face as he was now. But then again, considering how genuinely afraid for him she seemed to be, he couldn't laugh or smile at the irony. "Just promise me one thing, Cornelia. I know you have to go after the rebels and terrorists…but please try to not go after Japanese civilians. As I said, they've done more for me than almost anyone back in Pendragon. Japan, even if it's Area 11, has been more of a home to me than Britannia."

"I can't make any promises. My line of work is a bloody one…but I won't target them unnecessarily. Still, after what they did to you and those people, the Japanese Liberation Front will pay in blood, I assure you," Cornelia said. Then, a thought occurred to her. "The girl, the one in the capsule…will she be willing to speak to me?"

"No, she's in hiding. She hinted at a conspiracy that reaches far into Britannian authority before we parted ways." Then, an impish thought occurred to him, a bit of misdirection. "But…I saw her regenerate from a bullet to the head. When Zero and his followers saved us, I saw some shrug off what should have been fatal wounds. Do you think…do you think they could be rogue supersoldiers?"

Cornelia's gasp of horror and (false) realisation told him all he needed to know. He had her. "That would explain…Lelouch, listen to me. This isn't public knowledge, but when we confronted Ainz Ooal Gown outside Saitama, they did show superhuman abilities. They were capable of causing immense damage to Knightmare Frames. We're still trying to figure out the hows and whys. You and Euphie and your classmates had a lucky escape. Zero either didn't recognise your true value, or else he or she did, and thought it better that you be released with the other hostages."

"How did they cause immense damage to Knightmare Frames?" Lelouch asked, playing along. "Infantry, even with anti-tank weaponry, has historically performed badly against Knightmares."

"They had immense physical strength, and one of them seemed to have the ability to project electricity at a level comparable to a lightning bolt, or else some experimental weapon with a similar effect," Cornelia said, shuddering. "And during that battle, somehow, I felt as if the very spectre of Death had come for me. Zero made me feel true fear and despair, and I think it wasn't just the attacks of Ainz Ooal Gown. I think Zero had a means to induce fear and despair…emotional induction. I know, even without that, that if Zero wanted to, then he or she could have killed me with contemptuous ease, even within my Gloucester. Like an ant being squashed by a boot. Lelouch…I need your help to find out who Zero and Ainz Ooal Gown are. If Zero is a member of a family who were affected by Marianne's death, then he or she could be one of the Ashfords. It probably isn't Millicent, unless she can conceal her gender, or she used a body double tonight, but the Ashfords were amongst those who fell from grace thanks to those vultures at court. Maybe one of them or their associates is Zero."

Lelouch nodded, again grateful for his poker face. CC was partly able to conceal her own bust with help from a special enchantment on her costume as Zero. But he also felt a little bad, considering how badly affected Cornelia had been by Aura of Despair I. Cornelia may have been putting a brave face on it, but even the little tells she let through her iron grip on her emotions were blatant. Ruthless though she was, and even a little cruel, Cornelia cared about him and her family. "I'll keep an eye out. But how do I contact you?"

"Ring me on this number," Cornelia said, writing out a phone number on a card and handing it to him. "I assume you have a burner phone."

"Of course."

"I won't be able to answer it all the time, obviously. If need be, leave a voicemail. You know the standard emergency measures, of course." Cornelia pinched the bridge of her nose. "God, I'm tired. Listen, if you meet the girl again, the one you said that Clovis was experimenting on, have her contact us. I can't guarantee protection if there really are elements within our government who condoned what happened to her, or were even involved, but I can promise to try and find those responsible."

"And what next after this?" Lelouch asked.

"As much as I'd like to go after the JLF for their role in this…I need time to find them and arrange an appropriate funeral pyre for them. For now, while I gather intelligence, I will do what my analysts have been suggesting and deal with the Refrain problem," Cornelia said. "The productivity of the Elevens under the influence of Refrain has gone down, and the Chinese Federation seems to be behind it. Those damnable High Eunuchs have moles within our government, trying to sabotage our production of Sakuradite and other resources by having the corrupt profit off Refrain, as well as hoping to incite more civil unrest so that they have an excuse to invade." She placed a hand on his cheek, a surprisingly tender gesture from the Goddess of Victory, though not to those who knew her most intimately. "Lelouch…stay safe. With Zero and Ainz Ooal Gown on the ascendancy, you aren't safe, even if they don't target you. After all, we saw the JLF, or part of it, get inspired by that terrorist to try and kill you, and even if he or she saved you and Euphie this time, he can't forever. And I'd rather not be indebted to him or her."

Lelouch realised he had badly underestimated how much Cornelia had cared about him and Nunnally. What's more, for all her loyalty to their father, she was also willing to consider the possibility that, at the very least, the Emperor was covering for the one responsible for Marianne's death. And while Marianne hadn't been Cornelia's mother, Cornelia looked up to Marianne as another mother and a role model.

He was tempted to use a Geass on her to ensure her loyalty, to ensure what she said about Marianne was the truth…but he didn't want to. He could use the Geass once per person, for one thing, and he wanted to save that for a true emergency. And in truth…for all his anger towards Cornelia's cavalier attitude towards civilians and collateral damage…he didn't _hate_ her. Unlike Clovis, Cornelia had conviction, intelligence, principles (she wouldn't tear down a hospital and build an amusement park in its place with her name attached!), and she actually cared about her family. The main thing that was wrong with her was that she had bought into the propaganda of Britannian superiority. If she knew that he and Nunnally were still alive, her hatred towards the Japanese may be lessened.

"Cornelia…we've stayed under the radar for the past seven years. All I ask is that you help keep it that way. I don't trust the Emperor or anyone close to him."

"And were you ever going to reveal yourself to me, had it not been for what happened tonight?" Cornelia asked.

"…Probably not," Lelouch admitted. "But…can you blame me? All I wanted is for Nunnally to be able to live in peace and happiness. I don't think she would have that in Pendragon."

Cornelia nodded. "That being said…I would feel better if I had someone discreetly keeping an eye on you. Given what happened to Kewell and this 'Orange' thing Zero alluded to, the Purists are a dying breed. I need Margrave Gottwald by my side…but perhaps his second in command, Villetta Nu, can be spared. They have shown their loyalty to Marianne, especially Gottwald."

Lelouch was inwardly jumping for joy, knowing that Cornelia didn't know that Villetta was already his ally, not hers, but he said, uncertainly, "If you're sure…but why were they loyal to her?"

"Gottwald was in charge of security at the Aries Villa that night, and indeed had known her very well. However, when she died, and you and Nunnally were declared dead in Area 11, he joined the Purists, partly to take revenge on the Elevens. He'll be glad to hear that you're alive, though. He's been privately ill at ease about what he got embroiled in in the Purists, as is Nu, if only because of the dirty politics involved." Cornelia shook her head. "I'm still vetting them, to make sure. But…if they can be trusted, I want Nu to be keeping an eye on you, discreetly."

"I already have one bodyguard. She may be Japanese, but she's also loyal, to the death. And Cornelia…make sure there's no leaks."

"I will do my utmost, Lelouch. And I promise you…if I ever find Marianne's murderer, I will deliver them to you first, trussed up like a turkey, along with every tool that OSI would use in their black site interrogations."

"Trust me, my dear sister, I wouldn't need that. I've had the better part of a decade to think of my revenge against whoever did that." Of course, he'd probably send said malfeasant to Demiurge and Neuronist…or maybe Kyouhukou.

* * *

He parted ways with Cornelia fairly well. He trusted her enough to keep his identity secret. But there was still work to be done. She was still an enemy, or at least an obstacle, one he needed to be careful around. But she was also his sister, and one of the few outside Ainz Ooal Gown to give a damn about him. Maybe doing this might take the pressure off Ainz Ooal Gown.

It was, admittedly, a gamble. Cornelia may be trustworthy, insomuch as she could be trusted, but what about her staff? Could a leak come out that way?

Still, he needed to play along with this. With any luck, and the right manoeuvres, Cornelia would change from a dangerous enemy into a valuable ally. And as powerful as Ainz Ooal Gown were, Lelouch would be a fool to believe that they were invincible…

 **CHAPTER 11 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Lelouch and Cornelia have had a reunion.**

 **Now, I'm not sure how to continue this story exactly. Unlike in canon, Lelouch and the Black Knights/Ainz Ooal Gown will now have no reason to capture Cornelia at Narita, and they'd also have little reason to try and help the JLF, unless it's to absorb them into Ainz Ooal Gown. I've actually got a potential idea, have Lelouch use Gate to get into their underground lair, persuade Katase to join him, and, depending on how things go, all that will be left when Cornelia comes to get them will be a note saying,** ** _You snooze, you lose. Hugs and kisses, Zero_** **. That's, admittedly, my best idea so far. Still, I'm gradually running canon** ** _Code Geass_** **off the rails.**

 **Incidentally, before I go onto the review-answering, I want you guys to have a look at the latest offering in** ** _Quatermass' Compost Heap_** **. It's another possible** ** _Code Geass_** **story, with another Lelouch being the reincarnation of a crossover character. But I think this one has a lot of potential, especially as there will only be one other reincarnated character: Kallen. I won't say anything more, only that you should go and have a look.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Kaiya Azure** **: Lelouch used Fallen Down partly to get rid of the evidence, partly to scare Cornelia, and partly to, well, work off his anger against Kusakabe. Because nothing says catharsis than what is effectively a magical nuke.**

 **Time Out** **: The Sneeze is hilarious, hence why I use it. But keep in mind, Geass is still a pretty dangerous ability. I keep reiterating that Geass is basically a World Item.**

 **Reishin Amara** **: Kars, as in the Pillar Man?**

 **Fall2Glory** **: While it was done mostly for the hilarity (Tamaki, one of the more flaky Black Knights, turns out to be a loyal NPC, albeit one with ambitions built in), there was also a rationale involved. I had this odd idea of Tamaki being a reincarnated NPC, and I realised, given his great ambition and lowly station (relatively), Eclair Eklair Eklare was a perfect choice.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	13. Chapter 12: Family Values

**CHAPTER 12:**

 **FAMILY VALUES**

Cornelia grimaced as she peered through the information on the disc drive that she had been given. Jeremiah Gottwald had delivered it to her, saying he'd found out where it was from Bartley Aspirius. She was glad he had argued against sending Aspirius back to the homeland, even in disgrace. Now the fallen officer could be interrogated, wrung out for every drop of information he had.

The imagery she saw in there was disgusting. Despite being a veteran of many a battlefield, and having made some questionable choices as a commander, this truly sickened her to the core. A green-haired girl with golden eyes, someone that Cornelia found vaguely familiar, was subject to various experiments. There were even images of the girl, dubbed 'CC' (Cornelia found it irritating that it was spelled that way, but she was called 'cee-two' in the audio). One dated back to the First World War, a century before. Another was a painting, showing her in what looked like Jesuit armour, but with a distinctive bird-like emblem (similar to the one that was occasionally visible on her forehead during the experiments, she noted). If this wasn't a hoax, and the pictures and the sickening footage showed her recovering from dismemberment, decapitation, immolation, dissolution in acid were true, then this CC girl was completely immortal, and had been around for centuries.

That being said, this 'Code-R' project had to have had support from more than just Clovis. At the very least, it would have to reach the upper echelons of the Britannian government. While she couldn't be sure, something of this stank of Schneizel. Even if he wasn't involved in Code-R, Cornelia had the sneaking suspicion that he was aware of it on some level: Schneizel was an inveterate schemer, a Machiavellian mastermind who left any ethical considerations by the wayside.

Of course, it could go to the top, or close to it. Cornelia remembered what Zero had discussed with her, and what she shared with Lelouch. Marianne's killer had not only been trusted by her, but was powerful enough to have the Emperor cover for the killer, and the list of people she knew was small. But then again, maybe her father had more trusted people than Cornelia knew. She couldn't claim to know all of his associates.

The scary thing was, while she had every reason to disregard the word of the masked terrorist, his words made too much sense. She had the feeling that this was why. He had told her the truth, or at least part of it, in order to sow discord amongst the Britannian forces. But why do that? He had the power to kill her with ease. He was able to do so to Clovis, the battle outside Saitama showed that he and his associates could wipe out Knightmares in the same way one could swat flies, and he had annihilated the hotel in a pillar of light similar to that eyewitnesses saw destroying the mobile command centre of Clovis.

So what did he have to gain by keeping her alive? Did he think her a better Viceroy than Clovis? That admittedly wasn't much of a stretch: Cornelia found the paperwork her brother left behind to be ridiculously disorganised, and even without knowing about Code-R, she would have shot him for that. Or perhaps he had some regard for her?

Or maybe it was something really simple. She already thought that there was a possibility that Zero was an associate of Lelouch's. Maybe Lelouch held her in such high regard, Zero chose to spare her as a favour to Lelouch.

Or maybe, maybe it was something scarier: _Zero was trying to bring her to the side of Ainz Ooal Gown_.

Cornelia shook her head. She couldn't think about that. What she intended to do was to do what she should have done years ago. She needed to find Marianne's killer and bring them to account. What was more, regardless of Ainz Ooal Gown's power, she intended to deal with the other terrorists in Area Eleven. She needed to buy time to find a way to deal with Ainz Ooal Gown, at least before her father and the vultures within her family noticed, especially Schneizel. She didn't like being beholden to that snake for anything, and if she wanted his help, she knew he would extract a price for it.

Still…Lelouch…a smile touched Cornelia's lips. He had changed. True, not all of it was for the better: he had that stubborn habit of calling Elevens Japanese, indicating some rather disturbing sympathies for them. And he had admitted to hating what their father had shaped her into. But he said he still loved her and Euphie. And Nunnally could see again. If there was any good news to come out of coming to Area 11, it was this. And Cornelia refused to let Lelouch and Nunnally down a second time…

* * *

Lelouch looked down at the form on the bed. Kallen had come to him, begging for a boon. She had just found out that her mother had been taking Refrain, and she begged Lelouch to do something.

Kallen, it seemed, felt guilty. She had despised and disdained her mother for staying around as a servant in the Stadtfeld mansion, a maid, while Kallen's father was off in Pendragon, and Kallen had to deal with that utter bitch of a stepmother. Kallen had, until she had discovered the Refrain vials in her mother's room and her mother was in a Refrain-induced delusion, cooing at a younger Kallen and Naoto, believed she was just being stupid. That she was sticking around out of pride rather than trying to hold onto Kallen as the last fragment she had of the past.

"…Will she be all right?" Lelouch asked Villetta, who was looking over Kallen's mother.

"Curing this should be relatively easy, _su_ ," Villetta remarked. "Making sure she stays that way is another matter. To cure something as entrenched as a drug addiction, we need a heavy duty magic scroll, _su_."

"Or Wish Upon a Star," Lelouch mused. "It healed Nunnally's spinal injuries, after all. But Kallen's mother is not the only one affected by Refrain. Cornelia said she was intending to go after it, probably by attacking the pipeline in from the Chinese Federation. I think we should go after the financiers, the dealers and the distributors, as well as any drug labs we find within the area."

Kallen's face was twisted into fury and hatred. "My lord…I insist that those we find be thrown to Demiurge and Neuronist Painkill. Not for the sake of information gathering…I want their demises to be prolonged. I fear that, in my fury, I would make these lower lifeforms' suffering too swift."

"I will consider it, Kallen. These fools have profited from the misery of the Japanese. My people in my first life, your people in this one. These fools are dancing on the strings of the Chinese Federation, not caring as long as they can make a profit and make the Japanese miserable. It is past time they learned what true misery is." His eyes flickered over to Kallen's. Softly, he said, "Kallen…do you think she would be better off within Nazarick rather than in your house?"

"…You would let a human stay here?" Villetta asked.

"Ainz Ooal Gown serves to protect the weak so that they may become strong. We cannot do this for everyone…but for the Captain of the Floor Guardians, I would. Indeed, for those precious to us here, I would. However, the question would remain, what to do about your stepmother, Kallen?"

Kallen sneered. "That woman is no mother of mine. Even before I realised the truth about my mother staying at that manor, I despised that woman utterly. She is a blonde bimbo bitch with breast implants, bleached hair, and more plastic in her face than the average Barbie doll, and she has the gall to look down on me with contempt for being half-Japanese. It's no wonder my father, spineless coward that he is, stays in Pendragon as much as he does. Should he return, I am tempted to kill him, along with that sow."

"Calm down, Kallen," Lelouch said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We will think of a plan to deal with your stepmother. However, it is your mother I am most concerned about. To kill someone is far more easy than keeping someone alive, after all. And while your mother may not be dead in body, she is in danger of dying in spirit."

"…You're right, my lord," Kallen said, her voice thick with emotion. "I have already lost Naoto. I cannot afford to lose her too. For a feeble human and not a Supreme Being, she has too large a place in my heart. Forgive me, my lord, for admitting that. I know I should only have enough room for you in my heart, but…"

"No. You forget your own creator, Tabula. And there is your mother and brother in this life. Your comrades in the resistance cell. And, of course, your comrades in the Tomb of Nazarick. There are many kinds of love, Kallen. I love you all as the children of my comrades. Euphie was my sister in spirit in my first life, and in fact in this life. To love the weak is no sin, despite what my father claims. Few people are completely weak. Those weak in body can be strong in mind or spirit or heart. Your mother endured much, even as it killed her soul by…MMMPH!"

That last exclamation was made because Kallen had suddenly whirled, and pinned him to the wall, before locking her lips to his own, her tongue probing at his mouth. Her body ground against his. Kallen suddenly broke away, mortified. "I'M SORRY, MY LORD!" she yelped, blushing. "I…I just couldn't…I couldn't stop myself. Your words…your words filled with your most ardent love…I couldn't resist."

"It's…it's fine, Kallen. Just…try to." He smiled, albeit a little shaken, at the Succubus. "…I'm not stringing you along, Kallen. But…I want to prove myself worthy of the love I forced on you when I altered Tabula's settings. Not to you, you don't seem to mind…but to myself."

"But why would you think yourself unworthy?"

"Aside from the fact that, before we regained our memories, we barely knew each other? You view me as a god, a deity. For all my admitted hubris in this life as Lelouch vi Britannia…I never thought of myself as a god. First and foremost, I was a fallen prince…no, a brother, desperately trying to find a way to create a world fit for my sister. True, I wished to overthrow the Emperor, and find out who was responsible for my mother's death…but Nunnally was what mattered to me the most. But…I realised something. As Lelouch, I turned in on myself. I didn't truly have friends, just…acquaintances. I was like a lich in my mind, a shambling construct of bones, a walking dead man whose only reasons for living were revenge and the care of a crippled sister. CC changed that. She gave me many gifts, not just Geass, but my memories, my powers…and perhaps most importantly, Ainz Ooal Gown back. Euphie may be the only other Supreme Being to have come back, but even if she hadn't…you all would have been enough. I am no god, no deity…but I want to become worthy of your adoration and respect."

"…You already are," Kallen said softly. "Even given what you did to my backstory, you did much by stopping Clovis, and by saving the people in the Saitama Ghetto. You treated us all with a respect above and beyond what we deserve. We are the servants of the Supreme Beings of Ainz Ooal Gown. But you elevate us into so much more, into kith and kin, positions we still find ourselves wanting in. We too want to become worthy of the treatment you give us."

"…You already were," Lelouch said, echoing Kallen's earlier words. "Never, _ever_ think that you are merely my servants. Never believe that you are unworthy. The only way you can fail to be worthy is if you fail to live up to the tenets of Ainz Ooal Gown."

"…Thank you, Momonga," Kallen said quietly.

* * *

CC frowned as she peered at the online news article the next day. "So, why is Kallen's stepmother dead?"

"Let's just say it was a case of suicide by Geass," Lelouch said, perhaps a little flippantly. "Mixing alcohol with prescription medication you're abusing is never a good thing. The sad fact is, she was already doing it, the idiot. Used her contacts to dope herself up on pain medication, drank a lot in conjunction…if she hadn't been such a bitch to Kallen and her mother, I would have used the Geass to force her to sober herself up to prevent her from killing herself out of stupidity. Plus, while questioning her under the influence of Geass, I found out that the bitch had actually sold Naoto out to the Britannians, and was suspicious of Kallen's activities. She abused Kallen's mother psychologically and physically. While not the worst sort of human being, she only refrained from murder because she was afraid of getting caught, otherwise, she would have put paid to Kallen herself. Or tried, anyway. Even before she regained her abilities as Albedo, Kallen would have easily kicked her arse."

CC peered at him for a moment, before smirking. "You know, that's one of the things I like about you, Lelouch. As Satoru Suzuki, you were somewhat self-absorbed and embittered when the players left Ainz Ooal Gown. As Lelouch Lamperouge, you brooded over the injustice of your mother's murder, and the only person you truly cared for was Nunnally, your friends kept somewhat at arm's length. In a way, the combination of those two granted you a maturity of sorts. You're still ruthless, perhaps frighteningly so to many, and yet, you care more than you let on. You are the sum of two lives that managed to become better than your component parts. Now, I wouldn't say that killing off the Wicked Stepmother was the most moral thing to do, but…well, considering what I myself have done over the centuries, I can't exactly throw stones."

"I'm sure. Now, once we're done with Refrain…I think we should begin reaching out feelers. While technically we don't need the so-called Six Houses of Kyoto to supply funding or equipment, I would prefer not to rely on stuff from Nazarick, just in case. Especially as we are absorbing the resistance cell Kallen belonged to. I think we should also reach out to the JLF. Tohdoh may be an overly cautious general, but a seasoned military officer would be worth reaching out to. And the JLF could increase the manpower of Ainz Ooal Gown."

"And if they refuse?"

"Then I will simply let them go down fighting," Lelouch retorted. "Thanks to the JLF, whether they sanctioned Kusakabe's actions, or didn't keep him on a tight enough leash, the events at the hotel happened. I will fight for the Japanese, but it will be entirely on my terms. And those truly foolish enough to oppose Ainz Ooal Gown, well, they will be destroyed, one way or the other…"

 **CHAPTER 12 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, there you have it. Not much to say, save that this was a nice little interlude chapter. The next chapter may be some time coming, though, as I still need to figure out exactly what to do with the Narita situation.**

 **That being said, I've actually finished watching the first season of** ** _Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion_** **, and I've managed to get my hands on** ** _Akito the Exiled_** **. I've also got the eighth light novel of** ** _Overlord!_** **Yay!**

 **Now, for those of you who wanted to see** ** _Lelouch Liesmith_** **, my possible** ** _Code Geass/Thor_** **crossover that I alluded to in the previous chapter's annotations, I have some bad news. I am shelving the idea for now, partly because I am worried about it becoming an also-ran of this fic and** ** _Warlock_** **in many regards. To tell the truth, it may never become a full story. This isn't to say it definitely won't, only that I have more interesting ideas in the pipeline, like my recently published** ** _Star Wars/GATE_** **crossover** ** _GATE: Thus the Chosen One Fought There_** **, plug plug.** ** _Lelouch Liesmith_** **may still get developed. Whether I do continue on with it, though, is another matter.**

 **rmarcano321** **: That's a pretty difficult question to answer. Given what I've read, perhaps the most evil is VV. Charles may have been a dick, but he had good intentions, twisted though they were. VV, well, he betrayed Charles, and broke the agreement between them. After I watch the second season, maybe that opinion will change. That being said, Lelouch skirts very close to the line, especially given what he does immediately after he causes the Euphienator incident.**

 **Guest** **(regarding Shizu's identity): I'd already stated it earlier in the fic: Shizu Delta is the Lancelot! Pay attention.**

 **MM Browsing** **: Now that I actually have** ** _Akito the Exiled_** **, I'll consider that.**

 **Chronos0305** **: Putting Albedo into Kallen was actually a decision I didn't make lightly. I was actually wavering between Albedo and Shalltear. But I decided that Shalltear, with her paraphilias, was a better fit for the perverted Milly. Plus, Albedo's knight armour isn't that far removed from her using a Knightmare.**

 **Akuma-Heika** **: Regarding Momonga's education, you have a point. In fact, one of the First Doctor's companions, Vicki Pallister, stated in the** ** _Doctor Who_** **story** ** _The Web Planet_** **that, by the age of ten, she had obtained certificates in various areas that would seem advanced to us, and she comes from the late 25** **th** **Century…though she doesn't know what aspirin is, despite having studied medical sciences. Presumably it's obsolete as a painkiller and blood thinner by then…**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


End file.
